Eureka! I got it!
by Psychodog
Summary: A story dedicated to our loveable Inventors. Mackwell, the hardworking and all serious workaholic is involved in love, conspiracy and friendship, as well as learn a few lessons from his friends. And what's this? Affection for a certain Misty Lear? XD
1. Alchemy and Art

**Eureka! I got it!**

Chapter I: Alchemy and Art

A Short Fanfic dedicated to my favorite Inventor, Mackwell! Also it passes from point of view to point of view. For Example, Act I is _Mackwell_, Act II can be _Evia and Aqua_, Act III is back to _Mackwell_, Act IV can be _the Killer Chef etc_.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean or its characters._

_Author's Note: I just thought it'd be cool to take a break from my usual Fanfic and write about my Favorite Inventor, Mackwell! You'll see alot of Familiar inventors too! Hope you all Like it. _

_Reviews are appreciated! Even bad criticism! I could learn from a few mistakes to become a better writer! _

* * *

_ Act I: Break the Schedule  
_

_ "Rain, Rain go away..." _

_ "Come again another day..."_

Mackwell looked up from reading his book. The Library in the Aquios Palace was his favorite place to stay. Surrounded by countless books and knowledge; he just loved to just relax and open a few books to feed his hungry mind. But that's the problem, he could _never _relax. Work was to be done! One of his few loves in the world were books, knowledge and the art of Alchemy. Mackwell chuckled... Not many knew that Alchemy was both _Art_ and _Science_.

_"If you don't, I don't care..."_

This alchemist walked through the Maze of books. The Stained glass was glittering by the drops of water clinging onto it's smooth surface. From outside he can hear the soft tapping of rain, it was raining today. Mackwell disliked the rain, it slowed him down from his work... his _research_. The Rain gave him a calming relief, but often times he couldn't work due to delay by the weather.

_"I'll see the sun another day..."_

Mackwell ran his hands through his sleek silver hair. The Massive library was echoing the voice of the singer. How _irritating _Mackwell thought, This was delaying his already busy schedule. He clutched the book in his arms, it was an old book that was what was once owned by Dr. Elena, herself... Inside its pages was not only knowledge on Alchemy... but his schedule he spent many hours to write.

_Who is Mackwell?_ He is a brilliant Alchemist, the second best in his class when he was younger. He also helped assist Dr. Elena and Dion with the Thunder Arrow. If it wasn't for his theories of unification of channeled force, the machine wouldn't have been such a success. Well the war was over now...

_ "Rain, Rain Go away Come again another day, If you Don't I don't care... I'll work again one more day..."_

"Excuse me," Mackwell replied in an irritated tone. "Some of us are trying to work."

"Oh, My apologies." The owner of the lovely voice called.

"..." Mackwell stood before the owner of the voice. Standing before the large Stained glass window was a young lady. Mackwell squinted, he _knew _this girl. She had a pale face, long dark hair and often wore dark clothes. She would often have a cloak and hood over her delicate face.

"I didn't know someone was here." The lady smiled apologetically, "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine," Mackwell sighed, "Just another waste of precious time on my busy schedule."

"Well... Then I double my apologies." The lady replied.

"You're that _woman_..." Mackwell eyed her suspiciously, "Misty Lear, was it?"

"Yes, that is I." Misty nodded at the sound of her name, "And you are the _quiet one_ are you not?"

"It's Mackwell..." Mackwell replied.

"Yes, yes, that's right." Misty Lear leaned her head on her thin pale hands. "You're also the busiest one, the loner perhaps?"

"I do prefer to work alone, yes." Mackwell replied stiffly.

"Ah, I see..."

Mackwell stared at this woman._ She was a fellow Alchemist in the Inventor's Guild_. He worked with her previously... He knew much about the Clan in which this woman originated from... the people were very traditional. They loved Alchemy and also viewed it as an art... The best of the Clan would earn the title Misty... But this woman seemed much too young. Mackwell ran his hands over the large gold earrings on his ears.

"What are you doing?" Mackwell asked.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked in response.

"Don't you have work to do?" Mackwell asked Misty.

"No, not really..." Misty replied, "I enjoy staring at the rain."

"Waste of _precious _time if you ask me." Mackwell sighed.

"Really? I find it relaxing." She answered gazing out at the rain.

Mackwell sighed again, "Those who do not work hard get nowhere. Maybe I'm the only _reasonable _one who understands this." He took his hands and waved past his ears, "Like they say, _Time is money_, but to me _Time is life_."

Misty Lear giggled lowly, "Time is precious, I understand."

Mackwell looked down at his schedule, "Hmph, it seems I wasted even more _time_."

_10:00 A.M - Gather Information in the Library_

_10:30 A.M- Research Data _

_11:00 A.M-_ _Reorganize tomarrow's schedule_

"Sometimes, it would be nice to just stop time..." Misty Lear replied dreamily, "Just spend it watching the rain fall..."

"Why?" Mackwell asked, he didn't like this woman's carefree attitude... Reminded him of Dr. Elena... That was the whole reason why he left. She was unorganized... totally not on schedule.

"It's _impossible_ to stop time." Mackwell replied, "As impossible as it is for man to stop it from raining. _Completely unscientific_."

"Hmm?" Misty Lear looked up at Mackwell.

"If you have time to stare at the rain, then you have time to work."

"True, True..." Misty got up, "It seems your right, my dear..."

"Am I?" Mackwell asked.

"Of course," Misty smiled, "There is work to be done, afterall. Thank you..."

"Not a problem," Mackwell sighed sarcastically, "I have all the time in the world!"

"That's the spirit." Misty Lear smiled and walked down the center path of the library. "Sorry for interrupting your busy schedule, dear!"

"Hmm..." Mackwell watched as the young lady walked out of the Library, she waved goodbye and exited through the doors and turned the corner. Mackwell looked up at the Rain that was falling down the surface of the glass... it glittered like small Diamonds... Mackwell often times did work with that woman... but she was still a complete mystery. She was always dreamily staring out at nothing, she never complained and was always quiet.

"That woman... is an _enigma_..." Mackwell whispered. He opened his book and skimmed through the pages for his schedule. He would often times write out every second of his life, but that was a waste of time too...

"Now that I wasted 10 minutes of my life," Mackwell responded sarcastically, "What's next on my schedule?"

_11:30 A.M- Feed the Cats_

_12:00 Noon- Work at the Workshop_

"Not a moment to spare." He sighed as he got up.

Mackwell left the empty library and walked himself back home to feed his beloved cats. He may not enjoy the company of people, but his cats always had the time for him. He smiled as he pet their soft fur. His fingers rubbing their fuzzy ears as they purred in enjoyment. He had 3 Cats and 2 kittens.

But even while he was feeding the cats... he couldn't help but look out the dreary window of his home. The Rain that silently fell down the Window glass were cold... and wet. He watched the small liquid diamonds fall down. His mouth opened as he began to sing. _How did it go? Oh yes_...

"Rain, Rain go away... come again another day..."

_Act II: It's not my fault, Daddy!  
_

"Now, Aqua..." Evia replied, his eyes stern. "You behave yourself today, understood?"

"Yes, Daddy..." Aqua replied unenthusiastically.

"Aqua... honey..." Evia tried to make the most serious face he could, "You know what you did was wrong, right?"

"Yes, Daddy..." Aqua replied again looking to the side.

"You don't go walking around pulling other people's body parts, understand?" Evia asked, "It's just not right..."

"But Daddy! Miss Stanice's wings are fake! I know it!" Aqua complained.

"It's still rude, honey." Evia was worried, "You wouldn't like it if someone went up to you and pulled your hair, would you?"

"No but-!" Aqua tried to reply.

"No 'buts', It doesn't change the fact that it was rude." Evia interrupted, "Now when Miss Stanice comes in for work today, you make sure you apologize. Understand?"

"Yes, Daddy..." Aqua sighed.

"Aqua, look at your father when I'm speaking to you." Evia replied, "You're a good girl."

"Okay, Daddy..." Aqua sighed again.

"So what are you going to do?" Evia asked.

"Apologize to Miss Stanice." Aqua replied dully.

"Good." Evia hugged her daughter, he couldn't take it. Evia burst into tears. "OH, AQUA!"

Evia and Aqua are a father-daughter pair. Evia was tall, skinny and had dark hair. He loved his daughter more than Apris himself! He was _happy _that he lost his job, so he can spend more time with his beloved daughter, Aqua. This man would jump off a bridge to make his daughter happy! Being angry at his daughter was too hard for this man... Seeing anything bad happen... would break his heart.

Aqua was a young, quick tongued little girl. She had Pale Blonde hair and red eyes that shined like rubies. She was adorable but she disliked her father's overprotective and _way too_ loving nature. Love was nice, but too much was _annoying_. He nagged alot even though he loved her more than life itself, she just couldn't take it half the time.

"AQUA, OH AQUA!" Evia sobbed, "Why? Why did you do something like this?"

"But Daddy!" Aqua began, "It's not my fault!"

"My beloved Daughter!" Evia hugged his daughter, "Why? Please tell me _why_?"

"I am trying to tell you why!" Aqua yelled over his father's sobbing.

"Why did you do it? Is it me? Have I raised you wrong? It's my fault isn't it?" Evia sobbed, "Oh how terrible!"

"But Daddy-!" Aqua began again.

"Oh, what Evil have I committed to have earned this dastardly deed!" Evia began to run around in a frantic state. "I've failed as a father! A guardian! I'm the worst father in the world!"

Aqua grinned, this could turn in her favor. She hid her giggles and put up the most adorable, and most innocent face she could make. Her eyes were large and shiny like sparkling rubies and her face looked like a sad puppy's. She knew well... this face could drive her father up the wall. She often used this tactic to squirm her way out of trouble.

"But D-daddy!" Aqua replied with her large watery eyes, "It's not your fault, Daddy..."

"AQUA!" Evia hugged her daughter, "I'm such a terrible father! I raised you terribly and this is my punishment! Forgive your foolish father!"

"Daddy... It's not your fault." Aqua replied putting up her cute act, "It's my fault daddy, I'm sorry. I was just so envious of Miss Stanice's pretty wings, I'm such a bad girl."

"NO AQUA!" Evia sobbed, "It's not your fault!"

"Please Daddy, It was an accident." Aqua continued, "I don't want to get in trouble Daddy, I don't like it when Daddy yells at me. I promise I'll apologize to Miss Stanice right away! Just please don't be mad at me."

"No..." Evia gasped.

"I don't want daddy to hate me..." Aqua sniffed.

"Of course not Honey!" Evia hugged her daughter, a waterfall of tears flowing from his eyes. "It's not your fault, You're such a good girl! Daddy Loves you so much!"

Aqua gave a thumbs up._ Easy as Cherry Pie_. The Puppy eye routine works everytime and she uses it whenever she's in too much trouble. Aqua was good at manipulating her father... This was easy. Sometimes she loves the fact that her dad's easy to use like this. She remembered the last time she told her Dad that she wanted to be like Welch. Her father, Evia almost got a heart attack from shock.

"Y-your not going to yell at me, are you daddy?" Aqua asked sniffing.

"Of course not! My precious daughter is such a good girl!" Evia replied with a teary smile.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Why did you pull on Miss Stanice's wings in the first place?" Evia asked his daughter.

"They were really pretty and white." Aqua began, "Kind of soft like a pillow or blanket so I pulled on it accidentally. Alot of the feathers came out."

"Oh, dear!" Evia gasped.

"I'm telling you those wings are fake, daddy!" Aqua began, "She's a con-artist! A scam!"

"Still, It's bad to pull on other people..." Evia began.

"But Daddy! Those wings are so big, I almost got hit by them!" Aqua began.

"Dear, Apris!" Evia gasped, "You're absolutely right! Miss Stanice's wings are innapropriate to wear and fling around so recklessly! Someone might get hurt! My poor daughter my get hurt!"

"See? I told you so, Daddy!"

"I must inform her to safely secure those wings!" Evia jumped up, "If It hit my precious daughter, that wouldn't be good!" Evia zipped away down the streets in search for Stanice. Evia giggled. She skipped her way into the Workshop, with her old man out of the way she can finally make a sigh of relief from his nagging. That man constantly watched where ever she went, he was like an overprotective Mother hen... Aqua walked into the Peterny Workshop. Many familiar inventors were around the place. Aqua sat herself on the table in the corner and began to eat the bowl of fruits that was left behind. She ate all the grapes and oranges. She grabbed for the last apple in the bowl but someone got to it first.

"Excellent, the last apple." The person replied taking the apple away from Aqua's reach.

"Hey, That's my apple!" Aqua snapped.

"I don't see your name on it." The young voice replied.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you never to steal from a lady!" Aqua snapped, "hand it over!"

"Like I said before, I don't see your name on it." The voice replied again.

"You jerk!" Aqua leaned over to see the thief of the apple. The voice was young, the owner of the voice was Mishell! Mishell had light, pale colored hair and large Glasses. He was young, but despite his age, Mishell was a talented writer. In one hand he held a large book and in the other was the bright red apple.

"Give me that Apple!" Aqua snapped, "It's mine!"

"Oh really?" Mishell asked, "But you already ate so much already."

"Why you!" Aqua's face turned red. If anything she got her pale skin from her father.

"Well, it's mine now." Mishell took a bite from the apple.

"You jerk!" Aqua yelled. "No courtesy for a lady what-so-ever!"

"Hmph, where's your dad? Isn't he always with you?" Mishell asked.

"What do you care?" Aqua snapped. "It's none of your business! Are you making fun of me?"

"Just wondering that's all... I mean it's nice you got a loving and supportive dad all the time." Mishell replied. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, I don't need my Dad all the time!" Aqua replied defiantly, "I'm a _lady_."

"Okay..." Mishell replied taking another bite from the apple. Mishell returned to his stack of books, Aqua followed eyeing the apple in his hands. She wanted it _so _bad... He cracked open a large book and began to read it occasionally taking bites from the apple. He then noticed the girl still eyeing his apple.

"Can't you see I'm reading?" Mishell asked annoyed.

"And Can't you see _I'm hungry_?" Aqua asked annoyed in return.

"Fine," Mishell sighed as he pulled out the apple towards her, "Only one bite."

"Okay!" Aqua didn't even hesitate she bit the apple and kept on biting. Before they knew it half of it was gone!

"Hey!" Mishell looked down at the half eaten apple, "I said only one bite! Not the whole thing!"

"Yummy..." Aqua replied chewing on the delicious fruit.

"DEAR APRIS, AQUA!" Evia gasped.

On the doorway was Aqua's father, Evia. He had a fear stricken expression plastered on his pale face. His Long dark hair was wet from running through the rain as was his clothes. Behind him was the Half-sleeping Stanice. Evia had his hands over his mouth as he stared at his daughter eating from the hands of another _boy_! _This was unnacceptable! This was impossible! This was Down-right wrong for a father like me!_ He continued to stare his usually fidgeting arms were now shaking violently.

"My Daughter-! Aqua, honey!" Evia gasped again, "Why? When? What?"

His eyes rolled over in his sockets and the poor man fell on the floor with a loud '**THUD**'. All the Inventors rushed up to the unconscious man. He was on the floor, wet, cold and alone.

"Daddy!" Aqua rushed up to her father. He fainted.

"Relax, little girl..." Stanice replied, "He'll be fine, the poor man just fainted."

"Daddy!" Aqua shook her father, the man was dead unconscious. "Wake up Daddy! It's not My Fault, I swear!"

_Act III: There is no Time_

"Hey, Mackwell..." A voice rang...

"Hmm..." Mackwell didn't respond right away. He was too busy deep in thought. His dark eyes fixed on an empty sheet of paper and a few test tubes that were placed in front of him. Many thoughts were running through his head... Now that the war was over he was still working at the Aquios palace, just not under Dr. Elena... He worked also part-time in the Inventor's Guild for back up money to do research. He worked in the Aquios Workshop where he was stationed...

"Mackwell!" The voice replied again. "Wake up Mr. Mackwell! Earth to Mr. Mackwell!"

"Excuse me?" Mackwell snapped back into focus. His eyes were now fixed on the girl that stood before him. It was a fellow alchemist name Eliza... She looked over at him with a smile. Her blonde hair pig tails shaking happily.

"Good morning Mr. Mackwell!" Eliza smiled.

"What?" Mackwell looked at the clock, "It's 12:30 in the afternoon." He replied rubbing his eyes.

"I know, but you seem so out of it today, Are you okay?" Eliza asked her Upper classman in Alchemy. "Maybe your feeling sick today?"

"No, no..." Mackwell picked up the book, "I'm sorry, just thinking about work that's all..."

"I know! It's all this rain, isn't it?" Eliza nodded, "This rain is making me feel out of it too!"

"Well, Enough about the weather. Is there something you need?" Mackwell asked, he brushed his hands through his silver hair. His other hand was sorting the piles of papers on his desk. The Work shop was bustling with many Inventors. He rarely worked with them but in some occasions he would...

"I was just asking," Eliza smiled, "Could you pass me some of that Hydrochloric acid?"

"Yes, of course." Mackwell picked up the small vial. It had some clear acid in it. "Here, be careful not to burn yourself..." He knew well that Eliza was extremely clumsy...

"Thanks!" Eliza skipped, "Wow, Mr. Mackwell this is the first time you actually worried about me!"

"Hmm?" Mackwell looked up, "Is it?"

"You always seem so alone, Mr. Mackwell... would you like to work with me?" Eliza asked. "I'm still not very good but with your help it would be much more fun."

"I guess it wouldn't be so bad..." Mackwell replied. He picked up his books.

"Really?" Eliza jumped, "What a treat! I'm working with Miss Lear we can work together."

"Miss Lear?" Mackwell replied, "You mean, _Misty _Lear?"

"Yeah, she said she would help me, now you can too!" Eliza smiled, "It's more fun with friends."

"Ah, I see... well..." Mackwell held his schedule, "I don't have alot of time so..."

"Ok, we're not forcing you to do anything." Eliza nodded.

Mackwell followed the young girl across the Workshop. They reached a table with a few books scattered around, test tube racks, Minerals as well as many Lab Equipment. Sitting on the table was Misty Lear. She smiled at the two that sat around the table. Eliza reached for the miscroscope and added in a few drops on Hydochloric acid into her solution. The Solution began to hiss loudly.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Mackwell..." Misty Lear smiled, "It's nice to see you again."

"Same..." Mackwell replied. He stared at the small smile that appeared on the young woman's face.

"Miss Lear," Eliza called, "What do I do next?"

"Just add some bile into the solution," Misty Lear replied handing over a jar.

"Ok thank you!" Eliza continued to add more acid and bile to the mix. A green puff cloud appeared. Eliza busily scribbled down her observations.

"She's so adorable... and hard working too." Misty Lear's delicate hand was shaking slightly as she reached for a pen, "Kind of reminds me of my own, daughter..."

"You have a daughter?" Mackwell asked, he put a small pair of glasses on.

"Yes..." Misty Lear's eyes slightly dropped. "Well... atleast I use to... She died recently, you see..."

"..." Mackwell paused, "I see... my apologies then..."

"It's fine." Misty Lear smiled, "I'm over it, being a widow afterall..."

"..." The table was silent except for Eliza who was tediously writing down more observations while adding more chemicals together. She was hardworking for her age... Mackwell could remember when she overheard her talking about wanting to learn runology... She didn't have enough money and she had a brother... Mackwell would probably say that she was a lousy Alchemist, but that would be rude... She was clumsy, maybe... but she was still hardworking and still young. It made Mackwell pretty guilty that he was paid a high sum for his work only to have Cats to feed at home...

"Mr. Mackwell is this alright?" Eliza asked showing the solution to the Silent Alchemist.

"Hmm..." Mackwell stared at the small test tube. "Yes, it's fine..." He gave a small smile, "You just need to add more bile and maybe some more iron..."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Eliza smiled, "I want to be a great alchemist just like you two!"

"I'm sure you'll be a great Alchemist." Lear gave her a supporting pat, "Just work hard and all will be ok."

"Really?" Eliza cheered and was now even more absorbed in her work than ever.

"You said... you were a widow..." Mackwell interrupted the silence. "Did your husband pass away?"

Misty Lear blushed slightly and covered her mouth, "No, we were divorced you see..."

"Hmm... a pity..." Mackwell reached for his schedule.

"Still going by schedule?" Lear asked.

"Yeah..." Mackwell nodded. "Everything in my life must be _perfect_."

"How much time do you have left?" Misty Lear asked.

He opened the sheet of paper, "It seems I have an hour on my schedule..."

"Still working by the schedule..." Misty Lear asked, "My, how busy..."

"Yes, well..." He ran his fingers through his hair again, "It's not that bad..."

"Ah, I got it!" Eliza jumped up, "Look! See! I did it! My first Homunculus!"

"How wonderful." Misty replied calmly, "See? You do have talent."

"Good job." Mackwell smiled.

"Thanks! Wow, Mr. Mackwell." Eliza smiled, "You look really handsome now that I look at you!"

"What?" Mackwell put his hand over his face, It was reddening slightly "Really?"

The two Ladies nodded. "You should smile more often." Misty Lear added.

Suddenly, Eliza accidentally knocked over a glass vial from excitement. The small clear vial was rolling off the table. Her clumsiness has kicked in at last. Mackwell reacted quickly, the dangerous chemical solution was extremely explosive and highly flammable.

"Look out!" Mackwell grabbed the two ladies away from the table. "That Chemical is highly explosive!"

The two ladies were pushed aside. Mackwell quickly reached into his pocket, the Dropped vial shattered on the floor. Before the chemical combusted Mackwell dropped another vial to counter the explosion. It was a base formula that prevented the Acid to react and combust. Mackwell wiped the sweat off his brow. _That was a little too close for comfort_.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! Thank you so much, Mr. Mackwell." Eliza apologized but her hand slipped once more and another Vial was rolling off the table. Mackwell quickly caught it.

"This one..." He picked up the glass vial, "Is highly acidic... corrosive enough to melt you skin..."

"Eek!" Eliza gasped. Misty Lear put her hand over Eliza's shoulders.

"It's alright... be more careful next time, ok?" She smiled.

"Uh huh..." Eliza replied clutching the Homunculus in her hand.

"Thanks again, Mr. Mackwell..." Misty Lear smiled at the quiet Alchemist.

"Sure..." He re-organized the papers on the table, "It's no problem..."

They were interrupted by some violent knocking on the door of the Workshop. All the Inventor's stared at the loud banging coming from the door. It was raining loudly and the knocking was interrupting their work! How rude! Eliza, Lear and Mackwell heard the knocking on the door and looked up. The Knocking grew louder and more impatient. A fellow Inventor by the name of Rigel opened the door. But right when she opened the lock the door Slammed open!

"_Where is he_...?" The mysterious person asked. From the sound of her voice it was a girl. She was covered in water and her eyes were red. "Tell me where he is!" She yelled.

"I beg your pardon?" Rigel asked dazedly. "Who are you looking for?"

Mackwell froze, he recognized that woman... A little too well. She was one of the women who were crazy over him... he always had to carry around Explosive flash potions to scare them off...

"Why My love, Mackwell of course!" The lady sang. "I finally tracked his schedule! He should be here!"

"Mackwell?" Rigel asked. She looked around the room. Mackwell shook his head. "He's right there..."

"Is he now?" The girl fixed her eyes on Mackwell. "OH MACKWELL! MY LOVE, WHY DIDN'T YOU WAIT FOR ME?"

"No..." Mackwell jumped. He reached for his belt for another vial... his pockets on his robe were empty... The Explosive potions he usually used to scare away his rabid suitors were gone. He ran out... zero... kapput... nada... "Oh dear, I ran out of explosives to scare these annoying women away!"

"Mr. Mackwell?" Eliza looked up at the Alchemist, "Who is this scary lady?"

"Yes, who is this lady, Mackwell?" Misty Lear asked with a pleasant and intrigued smile on her face.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Mackwell asked irritatedly at the woman who was running toward him. Her arms were out stretched ready to hug him.

"Oh, but Dear! I'm the one to be your wife!" the woman asked. She had alot of make-up on and her frilly dress was deffinitely something he would never approve of. "You have no other woman with you, but me!"

"Get back Janice Janine!" Mackwell inched backwards.

"Come here Mackwell honey!" The girl ran up.

Mackwell was beside Misty Lear. She still had her pale face and soft smile. Mackwell began to sweat, this was no time to be picky. He grabbed Misty Lear pulled her head back and grabbed her lips into his own. He was _desperate_. Everyone froze. Eliza had stars in her eyes, Mackwell closed his eyes as his lips came into contact with Lear's. Lear was flustered... her pale, calm and pretty face was now reddening. Rigel sat down and began to eat some golden curry as she watched. His rabid fangirl was downright shocked, dumbstruck and raving with jealousy at the same time.

"Oh my god, Mr. Mackwell!" Eliza shrieked in excitement, "You and Miss Lear are perfect for each other!"

* * *

Hahahaha I just had the urge to write this one! Dedicated to all the Inventors! If you guys like it, I'll continue but for now wasn't this pretty funny? I didn't make up the whole Mackwell Loving Cats thing I actually did research for this Fic! Also Misty Lear was divorced, etc etc. Also It's TRUE! Mackwell does have girls after him and he DOES use Flashy Explosive potions to scare them off! Go check it out yourself in the Star Ocean Dictionary in the game XD. (Though Janice Janine was something I made up.) 

Well anyway, Thanks for reading! If I get some good reviews I'll continue the story!

I LOVE MACKWELL! He's SO cool! Mackwell/Lear forever!


	2. Explosive Results

_Eureka! I got it!_

_Chapter II: Explosive Results_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean, Mackwell, Misty Lear and any of the other Inventors._

_

* * *

_

_Act I: Food for Thought_

_The story of a Dreamer, a Chef and Revenge_

Mayu sat on the window sill watching the Rain fall down against the smooth glass. These were one of those days when she would doze off and daydream… Mayu was a big day dreamer… She would often dream of a Knight-in-shining armor to gallantly ride up on its trusty steed and sweep her off her feet and saving her from some fierce dragons. In this case, her Knight-in-shining-armor was a certain blue-haired boy… His name was Fayt… Yes, Fayt Leingod… She _adored_ him; her heart soared at the mere sound of his name. He was her sun, she was the flower.

Mayu sighed, "Oh Fayt…"

Mayu stared at the raindrops fall down on the glass. Ever since she first saw him in the Kirlsa Training Ground, she knew… that was the _perfect_ guy. He was cute, kind hearted, sensitive and brave… She remembered it clearly. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when he asked her to sign up with him and join him in inventing food. He even gave her a present to do so! An Adorable Kitty doll just for her! She loved the kitty and brought it with her everywhere. Every time they invented together, Mayu would forget about cooking and just stare longingly at the blue haired teen.

"…Mayu…" A voice echoed.

"Yes, Fayt?" She replied dreamingly.

"…Can you pass the Salt…?" The voice echoed.

"Anything for you Fayt…" She replied dreamingly again.

"MAYU!" The voice now snapped her attention back to reality. The owner of the voice was the little green chef, the Killer chef. Mayu almost jumped when the little green imp was right in front of her face. Its large nose was blocking her view.

"Eek!" Mayu jumped, "Fayt turned into a Goblin!"

"MAYU! Human Girl! Pass the salt!" The little green imp hissed impatiently. "Hurry, Human Girl!"

"Oh, Sorry!" Mayu picked up the salt shaker and handed it over to the imp. "Here you go, Mr. Killer Chef, Sir!" The Little green goblin grabbed the salt shaker and walked back to his large cooking pot, his knife in his hand. Mayu began to sweat, _Never make him angry… or else… That little green goblin might stab me_! Mayu picked up a pot and added some water… she daydreamed too much its time to go back to work! Fayt, or no Fayt it was time to get into inventing!

"It's no use…" Mayu sighed, "I can't concentrate at all!"

"What are you so worried about, little girl?" A voice asked.

"I keep thinking about Fayt… It's no use!" Mayu sniffed, "I'm so useless!"

"The Leingod boy?" The voice asked. "With the blue hair?"

"Yes! That's him! The boy I love!" Mayu replied, not even knowing who owned the voice. She began to dance at the name but when she turned around she came face-to-face with a tall slender young lady name Rigel.

"Eek!" Mayu jumped, "Oh, My god I thought you were my conscious or something!"

"Heh, heh, I get that a lot…" Rigel laughed nervously, "My name is Rigel, and you are Mayu correct?"

"Y-yes…" Mayu jumped, this woman was _beautiful_. She was tall, slender, had beautiful golden hair that streamed down her thin and delicate face. It reminded Mayu of princesses she read in books. From the looks of her silky dress and cloak, she was a noble's daughter. She would make the perfect Princess if it wasn't her dazed expression.

"Well, sorry to rain on your daydream but that Leingod you adore so much seems to fancy that _Sophia_ girl." Rigel replied.

"Oh…" Mayu looked down; her happiness was punctured like a balloon. "I forgot…"

"Everywhere they go, that Sophia girl clings onto him like… hmm… Me to golden Curry!" Rigel sighed, "Mmm… Curry…"

"I know…" Mayu replied. She knew well that the blue haired Knight she adored was really in love with that _girl_, Sophia. How that girl makes the _envy_ in her rise. Mayu was just as sweet! Just as adorable! The only problem was Mayu fell in love too quickly and she day dreamed too much.

"Also, that girl can cook really well, as well as do a whole bunch of neat inventing skills…" Rigel reached for a plate of food she just made and began to eat it. It was steak… Mmm… Steak…

"Like crafting and compounding…"

"You really think so?" Mayu began to have tears in her eyes, "That Sophia girl would make the perfect Girl friend!"

"Don't get me wrong…" Rigel reached for a salad next, "I'm sure you would make a wonderful girl friend too… just food for thought… Mmm… Food…"

"Really?" Mayu asked, "But she's so much better at cooking than me!"

"Well, why don't you make something better…?" Rigel asked munching on the salad, "Mmm… Salad…"

"You're right!" Mayu stood up, "I can't lose!"

"That's the spirit!" Rigel mumbled with a mouth full of salad.

"Can you help me, Miss Rigel?" Mayu asked, "You're a perfectionist, right?"

Rigel nodded with the salad in her mouth. She _was_ a perfectionist; she would pester her maids all day for a meal. Sometimes if the food didn't come out to her liking she would cook instead. But cooking required energy… and energy comes from food… Rigel liked food. And without food she couldn't cook…

"I'll make you some more curry…" Mayu waved a plate of Curry she made.

"SOLD!" Rigel grabbed the Curry and began to eat it quickly.

After Rigel ate the last of the curry, the two women were tediously working on their master piece cooking. Mayu fetched the pots and pans, filled it with water and chopped vegetables. Rigel taste tested, timed and seasoned the food. They added Vegetables, meat, and many seasonings. The Workshop was slowly filling the room with a delectable and mouth-watering odor. Rigel even convinced the Killer Chef to help them out. Mayu was scared of the little green goblin; he could chop those vegetables with such ease. Also… the scary look in his eyes made him seem like a Serial killer. Who knew what he put in his cooking? _Dead people perhaps_…? Mayu thought, _his name was the Killer chef after all_… Mayu didn't question his methods… the goblin was still a pro. _As long as the food tasted the best, she didn't mind at all_!

"We add some more salt!" Mayu sprinkled in some salt into the bubbling stew.

"And we add some more onions!" Rigel replied adding in some more chopped onions.

"MEAT! MORE MEAT!" The killer Chef laughed maniacally adding the Tender meat into the stew.

"Now, we add some parsley!" Mayu sprinkled in some green vegetables, "For flavor!"

"Black Pepper!" Rigel shook in some black pepper.

"TOMATOES AND MORE MEAT!" The killer chef dumped in some more raw meat and diced tomatoes.

Now, The Killer chef and Mayu were crowding around Rigel. With her delicate hands she lifted a spoon and took a taste of their latest concoction. She took a bite, licked her lips and began to chew thoroughly.

"Well?" Mayu asked her eyes bright. "How is it?"

"Mmm…" Rigel was chewing it, "It's tender, not too spicy…"

"Tasty?" The Killer chef asked his knife shaking in his green hands.

"Hmm…" Rigel swallowed and smiled dazedly, "It's delicious! It's absolutely perfect!"

"BANZAI!" Mayu and The killer Chef hugged each other as Rigel took a plate and began to eat some of the food they created. The Large pot of Mixed Stew they created filled the room with a delicious odor.

"Mmm… Stew…" Rigel replied eating some of the Stew with Rice.

"So all we have to do now is give this to Fayt, right?" Mayu asked lifting a plate.

"Why don't we get it rated, first?" Rigel asked.

"Okay!" Mayu pulled out the Communicator for the Inventor's guild.

"Hello! How is everybody?" Welch asked in her happy voice. "Been busy lately?"

"Yes, very!" Mayu replied excitedly, "Welch, can you rate some of this Mixed Stew that Rigel, Killer Chef and I, created?"

"Absolutely!" Welch pulled out a rating machine. "The Score for this stew is…"

50…

60…

70…

80…

90…

99!

"What Unparalleled Workmanship! Way to go!" Welch applauded. "We'll distribute this product, shortly!"

"Thank you so much!" Mayu replied.

Her hands were shaking in happiness with the mixed stew. This was going to be _perfect_. When Fayt walks into this Workshop later today, Mayu would surprise him with her latest invention! Fayt would die from its deliciousness!

Later that Night…

Mayu, Rigel and the Killer Chef waited for Fayt to arrive. He was going to visit Aquios shortly, and every visit he would drop by the Workshops and say his greetings. Mayu couldn't wait, she wore her favorite dress and in her hands was the prized stew. This was the best thing she ever made! It received a 99! There's no way it can be rivaled! No way in the world! Rigel and the Killer chef smiled and gave their thumbs up. The Killer Chef was sharpening his knife, waiting for his next creation and Rigel was happily munching on some more Curry and a Fruit Sundae. The door knocked and in came Fayt. He was wet from the rain and beside him was Sophia.

"Thanks for the Dinner, Sophia, It was great!" Fayt replied as they entered the Workshop.

"No problem, Fayt." Sophia replied happily.

"Umm… Fayt?" Mayu stood before the blue-haired teen. Her arms were shaking as she held up the plate of Mixed Stew. "I made this stew for you! I hope you like it!"

"Huh?" Fayt stared at the plate of Mixed stew.

"I worked really hard! Miss Rigel and Mr. Killer Chef helped me! I hope you enjoy it!" Mayu was shaking like a leaf.

"Really?" Fayt asked, "You made this for me?"

"Yes!" Mayu squeaked. "It even received a 99!"

"Wow thanks…" He stared at the stew, "Umm but…"

"But…?" Mayu looked up, her eyes sparkling.

"I already ate this a few minutes ago." Fayt gave a nervous smile.

"WHAT!" Mayu, Rigel and the Killer Chef ran up to him.

"Yeah…" Fayt gave a nervous smile, "It was distributed in the stores just before… and Sophia treated it to me for Dinner…"

"No…" Mayu fell on the floor, the Stew in her hands. "No way…"

"You made this? It was delicious, by the way!" Fayt replied nervously. "Thanks a lot!"

"Umm…Fayt…" Sophia pushed Fayt in the direction of Rigel and the Killer Chef. Rigel had made a fist. In her hand was a large Metal Frying pan… The Killer Chef stared angrily he pulled out two Butcher Knives.

"Not Hungry, Leingod?" Rigel asked her beauty magnified her anger, "Too bad… you are now about to have some nicely rewarded DESSERT!"

"CHOP CHOP CHOP! CHOP HUMAN BOY CHOP HIM UP!" The Killer Chef laughed maniacally waving his two Butcher Knives. "CHOP UP HUMAN BOY INTO NICE DELICIOUS STEW!"

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE US WASTE ENERGY TO COOK FOR YOU?" Rigel screeched, her now calm face was riddled with anger. "YOU CRUSHED POOR MISS MAYU'S HEART!"

"CHOP CHOP CHOP!" The Killer Chef laughed. "HUMAN GIRL! MAYU GIRL CAN WE CHOP HIM UP?"

Mayu stood up, her eyes dark and full of tears. She wiped the tears from her eyes. The Plate of Mixed Stew dropped from her hands and stained the floor. She gave a sniff… She then slapped Fayt in the face and gave a wicked smile.

"Miss Rigel, Mister Killer Chef…" Mayu smiled at Fayt, "Sick em…"

"WAHAHAHAHA!" The Killer Chef jumped at Fayt and chased him down the street followed by Rigel. Mayu gave a sweet smile and waved as they chased her so called Knight-In-Shining-Armor down the alley.

"Have fun Fayt!" Mayu waved, "Miss Rigel! Mister Killer Chef! Don't leave a scrap of meat on his bones! Chop him up good!"

They disappeared in the streets of Aquios. The Only thing Mayu can hear was the soft tapping of rain and Fayt's scream of terror as he ran away from the two crazed Chefs. The Rain slowly came into a halt and Mayu could see the stars in the sky and the clear moonlight.

_Act II: Forget the Time_

_Sometimes… Love requires no time…_

Mackwell was at home. The work day ended and he slumped in the bed of his home. Today was rather hectic… He put his hands over his head. It was warm, maybe he was coming down with something? His breath was heavy and painful. He slid his hands down to his eyes and finally to his mouth. His soft lips were hot too… _Must be the rain_, he thought. _Accursed Weather… it's the cause of his illness…_ Mackwell couldn't remember the last time the Weather hindered his performance. Even when he was down with the flu he would force himself to follow his busy schedule. At work, even when he was driven with pneumonia he would still go. It was the same when he was in school; it was same to this very day.

"Life must be precise, not a moment to spare…" Mackwell mumbled, "No illness, no amount of Snow or Rain could stop that…"

His pet cats jumped onto his bed, their soft fur touched Mackwell's cheeks as they purred softly. Their soft heads rubbing against his warm face, Mackwell smiled. He pets their soft fur and scratched their ears. _These were the only one's he loved_… He had no family in Aquaria. He was a foreigner; he was an exchange student when he was younger… At school he became the second best in his class. He was a genius, but also an extremely punctual and diligent worker. Nothing changed that. There was no family to love, only his cats.

"It's not true… is it?" Mackwell asked his fuzzy little friends, "I'm not a lonely person, am I?"

The cats only purred as he tickled their furry heads.

"Nothing can breach my, schedule…" He chuckled lowly, "It's blasphemous…"

He was still in his robe, his glasses hung loosely on his face. Mackwell's face was hot, and sweat was beginning to appear across his calm face. He stretched in his large four poster bed; the red sheets were made of velvet and silk. The bed was large, even though the occupant was only one man. He slipped out of his work clothes and put on a more comfortable outfit for bed. He pulled his collar loosely around his sweaty neck and slipped back in bed. As soon as he placed the sheets over him he drifted into a deep sleep. The Window was still wet from the rain; the clouds were beginning to recede. The Bright full moon hung low in the sky.

"…" Mackwell was having a dream, a repeat of Earlier that day…

Earlier that Day…

Mackwell's lips grabbed the lips of Misty Lear. His eyes were closed; this was all he can do. Miss Lear's pale yet beautiful face was reddening slightly. Her eyes were wide staring at the man who stole her lips. She hasn't kissed anyone… nobody ever locked lips with her since the divorce between her and her husband. She never really knew why they were divorced… The man she once loved never gave her a reason.

The woman, Janice Janine was downright shocked and angry. Her jealousy was apparent on her face. She was steaming with jealousy; she never even got to 'hug' her god, Mackwell! _Yet, this woman! This Pale faced, hooded woman was locking lips with him_! _This was impossible! This wasn't right! This was just downright wrong_! He would always scare her away with explosive potions or smoke screens to escape!

"_MACKWELL_!" Janice Janine Screeched, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Mackwell removed his lips from Misty Lear's. He placed his fingers on his lips and stared at the pale faced woman. She was blushing; her face was red and was in a state of shock. Eliza could only squeal in happiness and excitement she clutched the homunculus in her hands as she cheered.

"Oh, mi Gosh! Mister Mackwell and Miss Lear are perfect for each other!"

"THEY ARE NOT!" Janice Janine fumed, "They barely know each other! Isn't that right, Mackwell honey?"

"Well…" Mackwell pushed his small glasses with his forefinger and index finger.

"You don't even know this woman! Isn't that right?" Janice was fuming in rage, "It was an accident, wasn't it Mackwell dear?"

"Mr. Mackwell…" Misty Lear replied almost dazedly.

"Oh my gosh, Miss Lear, How did it feel? Wasn't it breathtaking?" Eliza's eyes were bright, "You two are perfect!"

"Well…" Misty Lear began to redden again.

"Quiet, brat!" Janice snapped at Eliza, "This is an adult situation!"

"Hey!" Eliza pouted, "It's more like it's none of _your_ business!"

"Tell this Brat to mind her own business, Mackwell!" Janice Janine snapped.

"ENOUGH!" Mackwell was now irritated. The table was a mess and the Inventors were all silent as they watched the back corner. Mackwell had enough, all this squabbling was giving him a headache. "Janice Janine, I'm working! Now, if you don't mind I would like to _continue_ my work as of now!"

"But-! Honey, who is this girl?" She asked pointing an accused finger at the red Misty Lear. "I demand to know!"

"Well…" Mackwell scratched his silver hair… he needed an answer or else this girl would continue to pester him and his busy schedule for life… "She is…" He looked at Misty Lear's red face; her hands were over her mouth touching her dark lips as well. Mackwell also saw Eliza's sparkling eyes.

"She is…" Mackwell put his hand over Misty Lear's shoulder and gave a nervous smile, "She is my Fiancé…"

"She's your what-?" Janice practically screamed.

Mackwell coughed once, "You heard me… she's my _Fiancé_… Now if you don't mind…"

"I don't believe you!" Janice yelled, she stomped up to Misty Lear. Her eyes glaring at the beautiful, pale faced woman; Misty Lear could only make a small shy gasp as Janice eyed her dangerously. She shot out many questions.

"When did you two meet? Are you REALLY in love with him? Are you really the perfect girl for him? Do you like Cats? How much time do you spend with him? Where are you from? Well? Answer me!"

"Uh…" Misty Lear's voice was quiet and shy, "Well… I love cats…"

"Miss Janice! Stop this immediately! Now if you please, I have work that needs to be done!" Mackwell replied.

"Oooh!" Janice was beat; she stomped her way out of the Workshop and slammed the door loudly. Mackwell sighed. But then her head popped up again, "MACKWELL HONEY! IF THIS…. GIRL EVER DOES SOMETHING BAD! I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!"

"…" Mackwell stared as she disappeared once more.

"Oh dear, what a pain…" Mackwell sighed, "She hounds me everywhere, I swear…"

"Uhh… yeah…" Misty Lear was still red. "She seems…nice…"

"Nice? As a rabid barbarian…then yes…" Mackwell slipped back into his seat as he slowly picked up the dropped glass on the floor. "My apologies, Miss Lear… I didn't mean to put you in such an awkward position…"

"Yes…" Misty Lear attempted to smile. It was soft. "It's fine…"

"I can't apologize enough, actually…" Mackwell muttered.

"Wow, Mr. Mackwell… you are pretty quick at this." Eliza smiled.

"Quick at what?" Mackwell asked as he picked the last of the glass off the wooden floor.

"Are you two really fiancé's?" Eliza asked excitedly. "Because if you are then-!" Her eyes became sparkly, "You two would look wonderful together!"

Mackwell and Misty Lear turned red again.

"Of course not," Mackwell coughed nervously, "I only made it up so she would go away…"

"Aww…" Eliza sat back down disappointedly, "That's too bad…"

"As much as I wish I had time at my leisure, I don't…" Mackwell put his hands over his eyes, "I never have time, and my Schedule keeps me in order at all times! Love would only interfere…"

"Aww ok…" Eliza pouted disappointingly; she had a flower in her hand and was plucking the pedals away. "But love doesn't need time…" Eliza mumbled softly, "At least not all the time anyway…"

"…" Mackwell began to think quietly he slowly got up and began to pace the floor back and forth. _He does this a lot while he is thinking…_ Misty Lear was still looking down at her hands nervously.

"Well…" Eliza whispered, "Thank you for all your help, Mister Mackwell… Miss Lear…" He put her homunculus down on the table.

"Not a problem…" Mackwell replied still pacing the floor.

"Ah, it's no problem, dear." Misty Lear smiled, "Don't hesitate to ask next time."

Eliza got up and hugged both Misty Lear and Mackwell. She smiled as she held her homunculus in her hands. Her adorable smile was shining brightly. _It was late… and she had to go feed her little brother lunch. _

"My Brother is waiting for me at home!" Eliza replied, "Thank you for everything! You two are so wonderful!" Both Alchemists stared at the young girl. She continued to smile; her rosy cheeks and bright eyes were shining. "Even though it wasn't real, I still think you two are great together! See you Later!"

"Good bye…" Misty Lear waved.

"Yes, Later…" Mackwell nodded.

Eliza waved as she left the Workshop, the rain was holding up and she skipped happily home across the wet streets. She didn't live very far. Mackwell and Lear were now the only ones in the back corner. They were silent, Lear looked up at Mackwell, and her face was back to its pale visage. She smiled nervously.

"Isn't it late?" She asked, "Almost lunch time…"

"Yes," He looked down at his schedule, "It seems I am rather late for lunch…"

_1:30 P.M- Lunch Time_

_2:00 P.M- Take a walk_

_2:30 P.M- Return to Aquios Palace for more research_

"Shouldn't you get moving?" Lear asked.

"Hmph, I guess I'll forget the time this _once_…" Mackwell replied.

"Do you eat Lunch alone?" Lear asked.

"Yes…" Mackwell replied, "As do you, I presume?"

Misty Lear nodded.

"Well then, I'll move away from my usual schedule for today." Mackwell gathered his books and reached for Lear's hand. "Well… Miss Lear, would you like to join me for lunch today?"

Misty Lear gave a small, shy smile, "I'd love to."

Back to Present Time…

Mackwell woke up. _That smile… that shy smile was so beautiful_… He shook his head, _this wasn't the time_. His breathing was still hard and every beat began to pain his chest. He unbuttoned his shirt slightly; his neck and chest were so hot. His face was covered in light sweat and the Midnight Sky was now visible through the window. Everything after that afternoon was a complete blur… it happened quickly. He had lunch together with Misty and after that he was late for everything else on his schedule… It wasn't so bad, _breaking the schedule_. He reached over to the table and picked up his glasses. His cats were asleep on the end of the bed. He smiled as he watched them. His hand ran through their soft and clean fur.

"It looks like… Breaking the schedule isn't so bad…" The Cats began to purr softly at the touch of its master's hand. "But is it ok?" He asked, "Is it ok for me to love somebody else?"

_Act III: Explosion of Happiness_

"VANILLA!" Meryl called the name of her bunny partner, "hey Vanilla!"

Meryl, the engineer was searching feverishly for the small bunny. The other day they worked on a new explosive bomb, when they were testing it out… the bomb was good all right; it was so good it took out half the workshop in the process. Meryl and Vanilla knew that even with a few set backs this bomb would change the next generation of explosives!

Meryl had blonde hair, she was short and despite her young age she would put many adults to shame with her extreme knowledge on engineering. Machine were her pride as an engineer, her side-kick in action was the bunny master himself, Vanilla. However, her side-kick was nowhere to be found! The bunny was gone; no trails were left at all. Meryl knew something smelled fishy…

"Vanilla! Hey, Vanilla!" She called again; once more there was no reply from her bunny companion. Meryl couldn't find him anywhere! Now some more history on Meryl, she has much knowledge on machines from her stay in the technological Super power of Greeton. Their technology was way advanced even for Elicoor! She returned to Peterny recently and works part time as an inventor.

Vanilla on the other hand, his race of bunnies has much knowledge on various things. Some were good at technology others were great smiths. Vanilla was an engineer and lived his life mainly in the Urssa Lava Caves… that is until he was paid by Fayt Leingod and his party of misfits to work outside the caves. He had white fur and a green outfit; he really was an adorable creature. When both Meryl and Vanilla were signed up by Fayt, they were inseparable ever since.

"Vanilla where are you?" Meryl called again.

"Me…" She heard a faint cry.

"What was that?" Meryl looked around the workshop; she could've sworn she heard something.

"…Elp… Me…" the voice called again. Meryl found the source of the noise. It was a pile of old machine parts.

"Meryl, help me…!" The voice was clearer now. Meryl was in shock! Inside the pile of Machine parts was her trusted companion, Vanilla! How did she know? Easy, the rabbit's tail was sticking out.

"Don't worry, Vanilla! I'll get you out!" Meryl called, she was about to dive into the sea of old machine parts but something stopped her. Someone caught her by the neck of her shirt. She began to thrash wildly.

"LET ME GO! MY BUDDY IS IN THERE! LET ME GO, NOW!"

"Hold yer horses, little lady…" The man's voice was deep. "That's way too dangerous for a young girl like you."

"I'm and Engineer! Let me go now! I gotta save my Buddy!" Meryl yelled continuing to thrash around; she didn't like the idea that she was lifted in the air. Her legs were dangling off the ground. "Don't make me throw my tools at you!"

"Now, now, your little pal will be fine." The man laughed, "I'll get him out in no time!"

"Who are you anyway?" Meryl asked the man who was holding her. She couldn't see his face at all.

"Name's Gusto!" The man laughed, "I was sitting over there with my pal, Lias and I just happened to see you about to jump in a pile of old parts."

"Mind putting me down, now?" Meryl asked.

"Sure thing," He placed her back down and patted her in the head. She gasped, the man, Gusto was huge! He cast a large shadow over her; he had to be more than 6 feet tall! His skin was dark and on his cheek was a scar… The man gave her a hearty smile. She recognized him, he was a Smith. And the man he was working with, Lias seemed fragile but they were both good at Smithing.

"Hey, big guy!" Meryl walked up to the towering man above her, "Mind helping me get my buddy outta that pile of junk?"

"Sure thing, little lady." With his massive arms he lifted the pile of junk. He picked it up and began to shake the bunny out. It took a while but soon enough her bunny companion plopped out. Vanilla looked deflated, dizzy and tired. He plopped over like a marshmallow.

"Meryl, Thank goodness!" Vanilla cried, "It was hard to breathe down there!"

"Vanilla, you ok?" Meryl asked giving her bunny companion a hug.

"Yeah! I'm fine now!" Vanilla nuzzled his fuzzy head as he cried with happiness. "I thought I was a goner!"

"I love happy endings…" Gusto sniffed, "A girl and her rabbit companion…reunited!"

"Hey big guy, thanks a bunch!" Meryl replied.

"No problem, little lady!" Gusto waved, "If you need my help anytime, don't hesitate to ask!" Gusto joined Lias back at the table having a relaxing cup of brandy after a hard day's work.

"Alright Vanilla, Let's get to work!" Meryl grabbed her tool set as the two began to tediously work on the bomb in front of them. They took many hours duplicating their invention. One looked like Vanilla, the other was in the shape of a duck, and the last was a kitty. When they were done, Meryl held up there invention.

"ALRIGHT! This is what I call SUCCESS!" She held up the machine in her hand.

"Wow, so are we going to test it out now?" Vanilla asked, "Be careful, remember what it did last time?"

"Not to worry my companion, today this bomb, tomorrow the world!" Meryl laughed.

"It says that this bomb can cause massive explosions…" Vanilla replied, "Also, be careful not to place it somewhere too hot."

"I know, I know…" She patted Vanilla, "Good work today, little buddy. I believe we just hit a revolutionary break through!"

"How about we get something to eat?" Vanilla asked, "Peterny got some great restaurants for us to chow down in."

The two Engineers left the Work shop together. Gusto's head popped up from behind the counter he eyed the bomb. This thing was suppose to be powerful, huh? He picked up the small duck in his hand. He didn't see what's so special about a ducky…He squeezed it, the duck made a small quack. He was about to pull the small metal ring but Lias appeared behind him.

"What are you doing?" Lias asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, just checking on what those two made." Gusto replied holding up the duck bomb.

"Well be careful," Lias replied holding up his hammer, "You're not an engineer you don't know what it can do, let alone how to fix it…"

"Aww come on, Lias I was just curious." Gusto squeezed the duck again, it made another quack. "It's pretty cute, are you sure this is _engineer_ work? Looks like a toy duck… maybe they're really craftsman…"

"Their profile said they were engineers…" Lias replied, "I doubt they would be anything else…Now put it down."

"Just let me see something," Gusto began to pull on it, suddenly the ring broke off. The two Smiths stared at the small broken piece of metal in Gusto's hand it was a small metal ring... on the top of the duck.

_BEEEEEEEP_

"What did you do?" Lias yelled. "You broke it!"

"I can fix it!" Gusto grabbed the ring and tried to place it back on, "It was an accident! I didn't break this toy! It was an Accident! I swear!"

_BEEEEEEEEP_

"Hurry up and fix it! Quickly, before those two come back from lunch!" Lias yelled.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Gusto yelled attempting to place it back on. His fingers slipped numerous times. "Where's my hammer?"

"You don't need your hammer! Hurry and fix it!"

_BEEEEEEEEP_

"Here, give it to me!" Lias grabbed the duck in Gusto's hands, "Let me try."

"Wow, Lias I never knew you could fix toys!" Gusto was surprised.

"No, I can't!" Lias's fingers moved swiftly attempting to fix the "toy". "But I bet I can do better than you."

_BEEEEEEEEEP_

"Hurry Lias!" Gusto jumped.

"Don't rush me..." Lias couldn't reattach the broken piece. "Ugh, It's useless." He handed it back to Gusto.

_BEEEEEEEEEEP _

"Hey, what's that beeping noise?" Lias asked Gusto.

"I don't know…" Gusto replied. "But the duck's eyes are blinking…"

"You don't think…" Lias began.

"That this toy might be a…" Gusto continued.

_BEEEEEEEEEP_

"A BOMB!" They both yelled in unison.

"It's going to blow!" Lias yelled.

"AH!" Gusto dropped the toy bomb onto the floor.

_BEEEEEEEEEEP_

"You dropped it!" Lias yelled.

"I'll pick it up! Hold on!" Gusto dived for the toy duck, it once again slipped in his fingers. He couldn't take it anymore. The large Smith grabbed for his hammer on the opposite floor.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEP _

"What are you doing?" Lias asked.

"Don't worry I'll crush it with my Hammer!" Gusto lifted his heavy Iron hammer,

"Gusto, No!" Lias attempted to stop him but it was too late. With a heavy **'CRASH' **the Hammer smacked the Small Duck bomb that was on the floor. The result was Catastrophic.

_**KABOOOOOM!**_

A Large portion of the Workshop went flying. Meryl and Vanilla came walking back to the work shop, they were licking two double fudge ice cream cones. They paused as they saw their half broken Workshop. Gusto and Lias stood there in the debris, both of them were covered in black soot and ash. Gusto in his hand held his hammer, his eye brows were burned off his face and his hair had a small flame on it. Meryl and Vanilla both dropped their ice creams...

"What the heck happened to you two?" Meryl asked.

"You didn't..." Vanilla was frozen.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gusto began to laugh. "THAT WAS THE MOST FUN I HAD IN YEARS!"

"Are you blind or something?" Lias yelled, "We just blew up a workshop!"

"I KNOW!" Gusto laughed. "But look, one of the other toys are still ok!" He held up the Vanilla shaped bomb in his hand, "Talk about Lucky, huh?" Suddenly the Metal ring fell off on the floor. Lias and Gusto stared at the small metal ring, than at the bunny in their hands.

"Aw crap..."

"WAHAHAHAHA!" Gusto continued to laugh.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

_"Gusto... you fool..." _

_

* * *

Author's Note: Yay! Some people actually like this story! I'm so happy! Anyway I hope you all liked this chapter! Please leave some more helpful or friendly reviews! Thanks! _


	3. Nice Days

_Eureka! I got it!_

_Chapter III: Nice Days_

Disclaimer: "I don't own Star Ocean, its characters or any of the Inventors… sadly…

Author's Note: "If anybody has any requests on Inventors just tell me in your reviews, ok? I promised that this Fanfic would be shorter than usual so it will probably only have 5 Chapters, tops."

_Peterny Workshop_: Lias, Evia and Aqua, Mishell, Stanice, Gusto, Meryl and Vanilla

_Aquios Workshop_: Mackwell, Misty Lear, Eliza, Mayu, Killer Chef, Rigel, Milenya

_Airyglyph Workshop:_ Noppin, Grats, Cornelius, Osman, Puffy, Chilico, Dejison

* * *

_Act I: Good Morning_

The morning was clear, quiet and fresh. Outside on the streets of Aquios the Sun was shining brightly, the streets glittered brightly. The Light rays were reflecting off the water from last night's rain shower and the streets were dotted with many puddles. Mackwell made his way to the workshop. It was 8:30 A.M, Sunday and according to his schedule he must make way to work. Mackwell was draped in heavy robes, it looked uncomfortable to wear in the summer but he endures it. His skin was pale and his face was flushed in a deep scarlet hue. He wasn't feeling his best, but ill or not he trudged onward. Everyone who ever saw Mackwell knew he was a man with class. He always looked his best, he redefines punctuality and his sophisticated and diligent composure attracted many ladies. This of course was troubling, it's not like he _wanted_ to attract the women… They just swarm to him. He could care less about women as long as they don't annoy him or interfere with his daily schedule.

Yet he claims he has no interest in women, but how come in his mind he keeps seeing Misty Lear? She was shy, quiet and also reserved… she was polite and kindhearted. She was also very intelligent and wise for her age; also her beauty was worth mentioning as well. If she was a suitor for Mackwell he would go with her just fine, unlike the other women who rave about him and chase him all day long. It seems the news about Misty Lear being his fiancé was spreading around. This morning he did not spot even _one_ of his crazed admirers… it was quiet… Mackwell silently walked his way towards the Work shop. His heavy breath was awkwardly loud in the quiet morning streets.

"Good Morning Mr. Mackwell!" A voice rang from the other end of the streets. Mackwell quickly turned around, he was about to draw an explosive chemical from his robe if it was another one of his suitors… but it wasn't.

"Oh, good morning Eliza…" Mackwell calmly put the explosive vial back in his robe pocket. "You look bright and early this morning…"

The Small girl skipped her way down the street beside Mackwell. She had her usual cheery smile and on her back was a small satchel. "Are you going to work today, Mackwell sir?"

"Yes, actually I was heading to the Work Shop right now." Mackwell replied.

"Would you like some company?" Eliza asked with a cheery smile, "It's quiet today."

"I suppose that would be nice." Mackwell replied.

He ran his hands through his silver hair. Two braids dangled down his back were tied in neat rings. His hand was suspiciously sweaty.

"Do you wear that robe all the time?" Eliza asked staring at the heavy, grand cloaks that were draped around his shoulder. "Aren't you hot in there?"

"Well…" Mackwell was warm; the heat didn't help his fever much. "It's not so bad…" Mackwell gave a small cough. Eliza looked up at Mackwell's face. His cheeks and forehead was red yet his hands were cold, sweaty and clammy. Her concern for her Alchemy upper classmen grew…

"Are you ok? You don't look so well…" Eliza asked, "Maybe you're feeling ill today?"

"No, no, I'm fine…" Mackwell replied as he hurried to the workshop. Eliza followed beside him occasionally glancing up at the man. She knew he wasn't well… he was pale yet his face was red. Also his breathing was strained and painful. She knew she should keep an eye on him, he reminded her of when her little brother caught the flu. He wanted to play outside but collapsed… The two entered the Workshop. Many people haven't come in for work yet. The only two people that were stationed this early in the morning were Rigel, who was eating breakfast by the table and Misty Lear. Misty Lear was always the first to arrive; she would quietly work in the corner and not long after Mackwell would be there as well.

"Well, Good luck on your invention, Mr. Mackwell." Eliza replied.

"Please, call me Mackwell…" Mackwell insisted, "Mr. Mackwell sounds a bit out of place."

"But you're my upperclassmen, it's only polite…" Eliza pleaded, "My mom always told me that I should be polite to my Elders."

"You're a good girl." Mackwell smiled as he pet Eliza on the head, "I may be older but we're friends now."

"Really?" Eliza asked excitedly.

"Yes." Mackwell gave another small smile, "Don't hesitate to ask for my help, alright?"

"Thank you! Mister… I mean Mackwell!" Eliza bowed quickly and excitedly skipped toward a table. She was so thrilled she almost knocked into a rack full of Chemicals that were in the corner. Mackwell smiled nervously, _poor child… she's so sweet and innocent_. _It's sad that her parents were killed in that terrible war_… He placed his hand over his forehead… it was hot. Mackwell quickly walked toward the medicine cabinet and popped in two pain relievers in his mouth. He quietly walked over to a table beside the book case and began his tedious work. Eliza watched him, she was still worried… Mackwell noticed Lear in the corner. She smiled at him and they both continued their work.

Not long after, Mayu, Milenya and the Killer Chef also arrived for work. Mackwell began another test to create a Homunculus. He added various substances and took notes on certain reactions and observations. He was working tediously… Since Today is Sunday he could work all morning and at 1:30 in the Afternoon he would head toward Aquios Palace… He was behind in Invention ranking, therefore he must work especially hard. Eliza noticed this and made her way to Misty Lear.

"Miss Lear… I'm worried about Mr. Mackwell…" Eliza whispered.

"What's the matter, Eliza?" Misty Lear asked she was reading a book and peered over at the small girl in front of her.

"He's ill… I'm worried he might overwork himself." Eliza looked back at Mackwell. He was feverishly pacing around deep in thought. "He might have caught the flu or something… He shouldn't have come to work today."

"Dear, he is rather pale today…" Lear also watched the Alchemist pace. "He also has a red complexion… maybe your right, Eliza…"

"What do we do?" Eliza asked, "He might collapse, faint or worse! He's too stubborn to stop working…"

"I'll handle it, dear…" Lear gave her a reassured smile, "Don't worry so much, alright?" She put her hand on Eliza's shoulders, "You're such a sweet girl."

"What will you do?" Eliza asked. Misty Lear smiled as she put her finger to her lips.

"Shh… we don't want him to hear us, you'll see."

Mackwell added some Acidic solution to his chemical. The Combination began to heat up and hiss… A purple fume began to waft upwards. Mackwell who was resting his chin on his hand began to scribble down some more notes. He then noticed Misty Lear standing above him. He looked up, putting his glasses down. The woman was wearing her usual dark clothing and her pale hands held a tray of a steaming liquid. She gave him a pale smile.

"Working hard today, I see." Lear peered down at Mackwell.

"Yes, there's much to be done…" He continued to scribble some more notes looking away. "Sundays I work especially hard…"

"My, but you don't look so well today." Lear smiled, "Maybe you should take a quick break? It might do you some good."

"You should know by now…" Mackwell reached over for another test tube, "I only take a break when it is written in my schedule."

"I see…" Lear giggled lowly, "Well obviously I can't separate you from your almighty Schedule, and therefore why don't you have a drink? It might calm your nerves a bit…" She held out the small metal tray, the cup was filled with a steaming liquid which was a transparent green color.

"What is it?" Mackwell asked eyeing the steaming cup.

"Just some herbal tea, Milenya made it herself." She handed the cup to Mackwell. "My clan also had the same kind of tea, it's healthy for you."

"No thank you, I'm perfectly fine Miss Lear." He walked over to the chemical rack, "I'm grateful for your concern but I assure you I'm fine."

"I see…" Misty Lear placed the Cup on his desk, "If you ever need a drink it's here on the table." Misty Lear walked back to her corner. Mackwell nodded in thanks. Misty Lear and Eliza sighed, _that man… he's quite the stubborn worker_.

"What was that tea?" Eliza asked.

"Just some herbal tea, it's healthy… and good for colds and fevers." Misty Lear replied. "Maybe I should've added some sleep solution or something in it." Misty Lear smiled, "Then he won't have a choice but to relax."

"Nah, Mackwell is a hard worker I bet he even works in his sleep…" Eliza sighed, "He's like a machine…"

Suddenly, Eliza noticed something strange. Mackwell was standing near the Chemical Rack; his eyes were beginning to fade.

"Mackwell!" Eliza yelled, "Miss Lear, there's something wrong with Mr. Mackwell!"

"What?" Misty Lear got up and noticed Mackwell as well.

He was also losing his balance. Mackwell's head was dizzy, he couldn't concentrate at all and his body was beginning to get numb. He clutched his chest, his heart was beating wildly and his head was burning. His eye sight was beginning to get fuzzy, Mackwell suddenly fell on the floor. His hand gripped the chemical rack and it suddenly fell. There was a loud crash as vials, test tubes and beakers suddenly fell on the floor and shattered. Chemicals were spilt everywhere. Misty Lear ran to where Mackwell was.

"Mackwell!" Misty Lear shook the fellow Alchemist. He was burning up.

"Milenya, Ma'am, We need help!" Eliza called the Elderly priestess. Milenya was a skilled doctor. "Mister Mackwell needs help!"

"Dear, what happened?" Milenya rushed to where the three Alchemists were. Rigel, Mayu and the Killer Chef also rushed to see what the commotion was.

"Mackwell, are you alright?" Misty Lear asked.

"…" Mackwell could hear the sound of yelling. It was distant. He could see Misty Lear's face staring at him with fear and concern. _She was so beautiful_… he didn't want to see it so troubled. Soon he couldn't see anything at all and lost consciousness. The last thing he could hear was the calling of his name.

_Act II: The Curse of the Ancient Text_

_What happens when you find a book written in blood?_

Count Noppin sat by the Book Shelf. He was surrounded by novels, poems, dictionaries and other literary masterpieces. In his right hand was a pen, In the left was a roll of parchment. In the Cold Country of Airyglyph Count Noppin was snuggled near the fireplace with a mount of books. The Workshop was well lit and warm. Many other Inventors were around as well. Noppin couldn't believe an _artist of refined taste_ as he was working with _commoners_… but _being_ the noblemen he was, he said nothing. _Might as well be a good influence to the lower class_. Count Noppin was a writer, but in his words he believed he was an artist. As true as it may be, he wasn't a terrible writer… In fact he was well educated and was fascinated by literature. But his overconfidence and smug attitude made others to believe him as every other Stuck-up Rich boy.

Count Noppin's over confidence was beyond usual stuck up-ness. He believed himself as the only "capable" writer. Seeing as that he must compete with writers such as an old Sage who Noppin considered was "_senile_", a boy who hasn't even hit puberty and a weird man who carries around a beat up and out-of-date umbrella with a 'mad' eye. Of course these three people were fellow writers by the name of Osman the Sage, Mishell and Cornelius. But Noppin wasn't interested in their names; they were, after all _commoners_. If anything, he considered the Sage his only rival. But enough with Ancient History let's go back to the story.

Count Noppin was sitting by the Fire place delved in his literature. His small table that he worked on had a vase full of Roses. He claims he is a rose, delicate and beautiful with high taste. From the corner of his eye he saw Osman and Cornelius… they were working together to write a tome for that Leingod boy. Why Noppin even decided to sign up with that Blue-haired ruffian was beyond him. Not only that, he had bad taste in style. Noppin quietly began to scribble down some notes from other books he has written. Suddenly he stopped. He began to sweat and this led to him screaming in agony, everyone in the room jumped.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Noppin yelled at the top of his lungs.

"What's the matter?" Fayt jumped from all the yelling. All the other Inventors were staring oddly at the Count. They knew he was strange… but not this strange…

"IMPOSSIBLE! THIS IS TERRIBLE!" Noppin began yell about how blasphemous this all was. Everyone just stared blankly… _what was so blasphemous_? _And why was he yelling to begin with? _

"Mind filling us in?" Fayt asked the screaming Count.

"Yes, I do mind! There is no plot hook! No story! No Art!" Noppin yelled, he tossed his parchment into the fireplace, "It is Blasphemous to us all!"

Everyone blankly stared… The Howling winds shook the windows from the outside. It was another blizzard…

"Blasphemous to you maybe… you screeching and howling like some weirdo is what's blasphemous." Puffy yelled, "Some of us are trying to work!"

"Silence, Child!" Count Noppin barked, "When there is no story, there is no art! Have you no idea what importance this is?"

"Well… I'm sure you'll think of something." Fayt attempted to calm the flustered count, "Something will hit you sooner or later."

"Something will hit him alright!" Puffy yelled from across the room, "My Explosive medicine will!"

When everyone calmed down Noppin began to cry in the corner. He was out of ideas, nothing was left… _How could this be_? The Distressed Count was so deeply shocked he could only wonder… _There is nothing left to write, no ideas in his head. _He was about to take a short walk around the Workshop but the lights suddenly turned off. There was slight gasping and a bit of chaos in the room. Chilico accidentally bumped into Puffy, the Weapon smith Grats accidentally hammered his own finger. The room was dark except for the fire in the fire place and the glowing coals from the Smithy.

"Agh! Fate has now heard my screams of agony!" Noppin jumped, "It is a bad omen!" He accidentally dropped his vase of roses. With a loud 'CRASH' the vase shattered on the floor.

"Calm down, old man!" Puffy yelled, "It's just a minor black out, no big deal. The blizzard outside must have cut the power."

"Everyone please remain calm," Fayt being the leader he was, attempted to bring order back to the Workshop, "There's no need to worry, Dejison went to go investigate."

"It is a bad omen!" Noppin shouted, "We are all doomed to death of failure!"

"Get, real gramps!" Puffy yelled, "You've been reading too many mystery novels."

"Then… what in the world is this?" Noppin held before everybody a book that mysteriously appeared on his desk. "I'll assure you, I never wrote this in my life!"

"What is it?" Fayt asked peering at the small book. It was old and tattered it was also heavily stained.

"Well whatever it is, it's filthy!" Noppin was about to toss it in the flames but Fayt grabbed it in the nick of time. He stared at the small red book.

"You're not tricking us, are you?" Puffy asked the Count. "Cuz if you are then I won't be so nice."

"Why would I write something so hideous?" Noppin asked. Everyone had to agree… it wasn't like Noppin to write something so… filthy.

"Well a Book just can't appear out of nowhere!"

"But…" Fayt held up the book, "A book shouldn't be written in blood either…" Everyone crowded around; surely enough… the book's old red text was written in blood. There were a few screams as Fayt skimmed the pages. Everyone huddled close to the Fire place.

"Whoever reads this book of curses will be visited upon by bad luck forever more…" Fayt read.

"OK that's our cue to stop reading!" Puffy yelled she held her ears. "I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING! LA LA I WON'T BE CURSED NO WAY!"

"Be wary… for the souls of the dead will extract their vengeance upon this hour…" Fayt continued. "It's just a book on old superstitions… It's not _real_."

"Yeah, well it's not my fault if you like… magically turn into a frog or something!" Puffy yelled. "The book is written in _blood_ that's bad enough as it is!"

"The girl has a point, Leingod boy!" Noppin replied, "It's best tossed out! Burned! Incinerated!"

"Come on, where's your knack for adventure?" Fayt laughed, "Don't tell me you're afraid of this? It's just a joke from you guys, right?"

"I told you before," Noppin replied, "I didn't write it."

"It was not I." Osman replied, "Cornelius and I are on this end of the room. Working as you can see…"

"We're obviously not writers!" Puffy pouted, "Is it yours, Leingod?"

"No… actually, I haven't written it." Fayt replied.

"Does the book have a publisher? An author?" Osman asked peering at them from his table.

"No, it has nothing." Fayt replied skimming the book once more. He then stopped on the last page. Everyone watched as Leingod stared at the pages. The Howling winds were loud outside the windows. Fayt even consulted with Welch, she replied that nothing like that was ever invented before, let alone who invented it. The book… just _mysteriously_ _appeared_. The lights began to flicker and turn on, everyone sighed in relief… A blackout in this weather was as bad as Roger walking into the Ladies' bathroom.

"Ah, see? Nothing to worry about… Dejison fixed the lights." Fayt sighed in relief.

Suddenly, the books in Count Noppin's hands fell on the floor. The Writer's face was as pale as a ghost. Everyone turned to the Count. He held his hands to his mouth and began to gasp.

"What's wrong?" Puffy asked, "Don't tell me you're trying to trick us with another 'ghost' scam."

"Over there!" Count Noppin shrieked, "Writing! Writing on the Mirror!"

The inventors turned around. Sure enough… the stuck up Count was right… on the Mirror… scratched in its reflective surface were three words.

"_Seeking My Revenge…"_

_Act III: The Loss of Loneliness  
_

"How is he?"

"He's doing much better. His fever went down…"

"Will he be alright?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, it was only fatigue after all…"

**_Mackwell could hear voices in his head. They echoed in his mind._**

"He works too hard… He doesn't know the definition of relax, does he?"

"I'm afraid not."

He couldn't see… he could hear voices but he couldn't see at all. Everything was dark. The owner of the voices were blurry, he couldn't make out the details. The voices seemed so familiar though. _Where was he? And what happened?_ Obviously, no one would answer. He was only surrounded by voices. _Were they talking about him_? Mackwell's mind was in utter chaos and disorder. Too many thoughts clouded his mind. _Why am I here? What do I do next? What about my schedule? And…what about time…_? _Where am I_?

"Please take good care of him…" The voice seemed to be fading away. Everything was so cold and dark in Mackwell's mind. His body was shivering uncontrollably… _Why was it so cold_? _It feels painful even_…Kind of like Ice cold needles were prickling him everywhere. His skin was covered in cold sweat, it hurt so much. Suddenly there was a warm hand that touched his cheeks. His body began to slowly stop shivering… The Hand was so warm, so comforting... Kind of like the warm touch of his cats' fur against his cheek.

"It's ok…" The voice was soft, "Relax, and be calm…"

"No…" Mackwell mumbled, his voice was strained, "there's never any time…"

"Shhh…" The voice replied, "Don't worry… don't worry about time, it will wait for you… Just be patient…"

"It never waits…" Mackwell began to slowly calm down, "It always… leaves me behind…"

"Really?" The soft voice paused, "…That's ok."

"…" Mackwell was feeling sleepy all over again. The warm hand began to gently rub his face. Then it took hold of his hand. The warm hands were so nice to the touch, they were small… the fingers delicate as they stroked his hand. Something warm was placed to his mouth; a hot liquid entering his throat. Mackwell's mind felt foggy and unclear. For a long time he could feel a comfortable sleep stretching over him.

_"Everything will be ok…" _The voice replied soothingly, _"I'll wait for you…I won't leave you behind."_

Misty Lear gazed down at the Alchemist, his head on her lap. His skin was now warm, no longer hot and sweaty. His fever went down immensely. His silver hair was covering his handsome face, he looked far better than the average man. Probably a gift he received from Aquaria's 'Goddess' Apris? Misty Lear was unsure whether to believe in gods and goddesses anymore... There really didn't seem to be a god... or atleast none that heard her prayers. Her husband left her, her only dear child died... The baby was only 2 years old. A baby girl... She was such a beautiful baby. Misty Lear could feel tears falling from her eyes just by thinking about it. The baby was 2 years old... with smooth ivory colored skin... and rosy cheeks... Even after her husband left, Lear believed she could still live on with her child beside her. But those dreams were broken... shattered like glass into a million pieces.

Her fingers touched the man's forehead. Despite this man's solitude and serious demeanor... she could tell that he was also kindhearted. Hardworking, yes but he was also pained. Lear could feel a wrenching pain in her chest... _no... she could never go near people again_. She brings misfortune... sorrow... to herself and to everyone else. To fall in love was treacherous... it was _dangerous_... It led to more pain, more guilt, more suffering... Her delicate arms began to shake and tears continued to fall down her pale cheeks. It was cold out, the night breeze blew past them. She attempted to wipe the tears from her eyes but they continued to fall.  
"Your crying..." Mackwell's eyes gazed up at hers. His head was still lying on her lap. A tear awoke him... it landed on his cheek.

"I'm sorry..." Misty Lear wiped the tears, "I'm terribly sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing?" Mackwell asked, he attempted to get up but his body wouldn't listen to him. They wanted to remain there... where it was safe.

"I don't know..." Lear whispered, "I really don't know..." She smiled, her tears still streaming down her face. "I must look foolish..."

"No..." Mackwell replied. He could feel the night air. "I look foolish, It seems I messed up my schedule again..." He gave a light sigh, "I really do need to push myself harder..."

"Why?" Lear asked, "Why do you do all this?"

"..." Mackwell paused, "I'm trying to find the answer myself... Maybe because I don't feel satisfied? Maybe because all my attempts are never good enough? Or is it that... I just like to work..." He attempted to get up again, his arms slowly lifting him up, "No matter, To accomplish anything work is needed.I don't mind pushing myself to death..."

"No!" Lear's eyes were filled with tears again, she pushed Mackwell back down. "Stop! Just Stop!" Her shaky chest was breathing heavily as her heart beat. Mackwell could hear the low beating... He could feel her warmth against him. "Don't... please... Don't push yourself so hard..."

"Miss Lear...?" Mackwell looked up at her, _Never... did he ever see this woman cry. Never. It was so sad... yet so beautiful..._ "What is the meaning of this... behavior?" He asked.

"Please... don't push yourself so hard... It hurts me..." Her beautiful face was buried in her hands. "I almost... thought I lost you..."

"Thank you..." Mackwell whispered, "You have my grattitude for helping me... Honestly, this is the first time someone ever cried for me..." He placed his hands on her cheek, whiping the tear away with his finger. "Don't cry... it hurts me as well..."

Misty Lear wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her robe. She put up a shy smile. It was small and it looked nice, her cheeks were red from the crying... but she was still as gorgeous. Mackwell smiled, he never thought he'd receive any help from anyone... let alone a woman. They were outside, but not by the workshop. He was in the gardens of Castle Aquios. Above him was the Stars in the night sky. Their lights shining brightly in the sea of darkness. Also gleaming down on him was Misty Lear... The first woman... in a long time to care for him.

"You were crying about... your losses." Mackwell asked.

Lear silently nodded. Mackwell found it hard... he didn't have anyone to mourn for. He locked everyone away. But this woman... she was hurt. Hurt so much because those that she loved were now gone. Mackwell didn't know the feeling very well. He grew up alone. He was a foreigner... there was no family here. The only loss he felt was that of Dion's... A fellow Runologist under Dr. Elena... He died recently. That war tore him, Mackwell heard the news of his death. Tragic... but he died in the arms of his lover... Ameena was it? He must be happy now... Mackwell's thoughts began to drift.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Lear asked, "Your fever went down... You feel better, don't you?"

"Yes..." Mackwell replied. He put his hand on his forehead. Sure enough it was warm, no sign of any illness. "I must've gotten weary from fatigue and overwork..."

"You really should rest more, you know..." Lear whispered.

"Really...?" Mackwell replied.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine..." Lear gave a small smile, "Tomarrow you can continue with your daily schedule...as good as new."

"No..." Mackwell sat up he faced Misty Lear. A small smile appeared on his face. "Let's forget time for a while." Mackwell's gaze made Lear blush. He pulled her close, they could feel each other's heartbeats. Misty Lear's heartbeat began to rapidly increase... "You helped me so much..." he whispered.

"Mackwell..." Lear attempted to push him away, "No... I can't... I'll just hurt you too..."

"It's ok..." He pushed forward, "I don't mind sharing your pain..."

He gently pulled her hair away from her eyes. They were dark blue, like the night sky yet they glowed like the stars. Mackwell could feel her light breath on his cheeks.

"Allow me... to show you my grattitude..." He leaned forward as their lips touched. Mackwell could feel it... his strict, unforgiving schedule... The cruel time that bounded him for so long was slowly stopping. The world around them felt like it paused, just for them. Lear could feel her pain slowly releasing in her mind, Mackwell could feel his loneliness vanishing.

Everything was so still... Everything was so perfect.

_Bonuse Misty Lear and Mackwell Act: _

_Act IV: Good Night _

Mackwell and Misty Lear walked down the streets of Aquios. It was dark, the Night swallowed the City whole. Only the dim glows from the Houses and the Lamp posts released their light. Even though it was dark, Even though it was cold they walked together. The Cold night air was light and crisp. It felt refreshing... Lear and Mackwell walked quietly, holding hands as they moved on. From the distance they could hear a howling of a wolf and the barkings of coyotes from the forest afar.

"You really don't have to walk me home..." Mackwell replied. "I'm perfectly fine..."

"I want to walk with you." Lear smiled, "It's a little less lonely."

"Hmm..." Mackwell put his hand against his head, "This is the first time a woman ever walked me home...I must really be losing it..."

"You don't like it?" Lear asked curiously.

"No... I like it..." He mumbled. In his hand he clutched a small pile of books. His long cloak and robe was drifting along the night breeze. He was right... _Lear wasn't like other women. She wasn't like his crazed suitors... she was kind, generous, shy... and most of all... she was respectful_. Mackwell finds her to be the perfect woman... or atleast a very nice one. But then again, our world was filled with different people. He remembered the time when a very meek librarian girl fancied him... she would always drop a pile of books when he passed by her every morning... She was very kind, but also very shy...

"The child, Eliza was very worried about you." Lear broke the silence. Her voice soft. "She wouldn't leave your side..."

"Is that so?" Mackwell replied. He almost forgot. "I should thank her in the morning..."

Lear nodded, "She's so sweet, she said something along the lines of... 'He's my friend, I don't want to lose friends'... Such an innocent child."

"She is." Mackwell nodded a small smile across his face, "Looks like I'm in her debt... as I am in yours..."

Lear shook her head, "It was nothing... I do feel pity for her loss... I believe her parents fell in that war..."

"Yes..." Mackwell's face now bore a serious expression, "It was a ruthless war... Here we are..." Mackwell and Lear stood outside his house. It was large and very grand... he was paid a large sum of money for his assistance in the Aquios palace. He opened the gates to his front door. He smiled back at Misty Lear.

"Thank you so much for everything, Miss Lear."

"It was no problem..." Lear smiled.

"But... I'm concerned on how you would get home... would you like me to assist you?" Mackwell asked. "It's dangerous at night..."

"It's no problem." Lear smiled shyly, "I'm fine, I stay at the inn. I'm terribly far from home you see, so I stay at the inn instead... It's not very far."

Mackwell frowned, "Stay at the inn...? How troublesome to pay every night..."

Lear bowed, "It's no problem, I get paid a decent amount by the Inventor's Guild."

"Please..." Mackwell opened the gate, "You can stay here if you wish, I have plenty of room."

Lear blushed, stay at the house of a man? This never happened before. "It's fine, really... I wouldn't want to be a burden to you." She shook her head, and smiled, "It's rude..."

Mackwell chuckled, "Just see it as a token of my grattitude... I have plenty of rooms that aren't used, I'd be happy to let you stay as long as you like." He smiled, "Please, I insist... It would be troubling if you ran out of money and had no place to go."

"Well..." Lear's face was still red, "I suppose it would be alright..."

Lear walked through the metal gates. She slowly walked across his yard... it was very nice. The Plants were well-watered and there were many different kinds of Lilacs and Rosebushes on his yard. His house seemed more like a small manor. Mackwell pulled out a key and opened the door, he walked over to a small cabinet in the hall and tossed a spare key to Lear. She stared at it, the cool metal cupped in her hands. He was giving her access to his _home_?

"You might need this," He smiled.

Mackwell walked to his study. It had many shelves filled with books and novels. Also in the corner was a small desk. Surrounding it were many racks of different chemicals and equipment. He pulled off his cloak and hung it on the coat rack. Lear did the same with her hood. She had no need to go back to the inn... Misty Lear didn't posses many belongings. She had only a small bag that had some spare clothes as well as a decent amount of money.

Mackwell's house was well furnished. It had a total of 4 Bedrooms, only one was occupied. A Nice Kitchen, a basement, 2 Bathrooms, a Study and a Living room. He had such a large home for only himself and a number of cats. Mackwell introduced each of his cats, they all stared intriguingly at the new visitor. Mackwell allowed her to choose whichever room she liked and gave her access to anywhere around the house. He only comes home twice a day to feed his cats and at night to sleep, other than that he barely stays at home.

Lear chose a nice room with a balcony. She can see the Gardens and the Palace from there. Mackwell said his goodnights and left for his own room. Misty Lear was alone, she looked around the large room... It was so different from the inn. She unpacked and spread herself across the bed. There was a very large mirror and a wardrobe... the four poster bed was neatly cleaned and well furnished. Though, the room showed no sign of occupancy she could tell he cleaned it regularly. She gave a sigh, it's been so long since she sunk into a nice bed...

Many thoughst began to run through her head... Like what happened between her and Mackwell earlier that night? Was that a confession of love? How did she feel about Mackwell? It is true he is kindhearted, Handsome and intelligent... but... was this right? And now she even lives under the same roof! How long does she plan to stay? A day? 2 days? A week? Maybe even longer? She sat up on her bed, her reflection staring back at her in the mirror. Her face was still pale, her eyes dark...

"Is this truly ok?" She whispered to herself. There was no reply.

She sighed... Mackwell is a kind man. He wouldn't do anything innapropriate... he even gave her a place to stay... She slipped into the sheets the warm covers and the soft pillow felt very nice. What can she do? I guess there's nothing left to do but wait...

Mackwell lay on his own bed. Once again he finds himself in the security of his own room. One of his cats began to purr softly as it rubbed its furry body against Mackwell's leg. He smiles as he pets the small cat in the head.

"Looks like we'll be having company for a while..." He whispered. He spots the small piled of books on the small table beside his bed. He picks it up... this was the book he took from Dr. Elena... inside it was his schedule. He stared at the paper. On it was his daily list of activities and their exact times. Today was Sunday... what did he have to do? After the workshop he was suppose to go to Castle Aquaria... something about Prayers... After he was to do more reasearch in the library. _Research on what?_ He almost forgot... Alchemy, Runology, Technology...

He was sick for the entire day... It was kind of awkward. He gazed at the small pile of schedules. These papers kept him tied to time... He put the papers and placed them beneath his book. He didn't want to look at them for a while. Mackwell made a small sigh as he pet his furry little friend.

"I guess I'll take a break..." He smiled, "I'll be staying home tomarrow, little friend."

"I'll relax... and wait... wait until my life gets back on track..." The small cat purred by its master's soft touch. he chuckled, "Yeah... I like that too..."

* * *

Oyy... head hurts now... Sleepy... Well anyway, if you guys have any inventor requests just ask, ok? So far someone wants more Lias. Well then I'll make some more Lias scenes... As for the Count Noppin thing yeah... that I just scribbled while I was half dead. HAHAHA it's meant to take up space I guess. I'll try better next time! XD MISTY LEAR YOU LUCKY GIRL! I WANT TO STAY IN MACKWELL'S HOUSE TOO!  



	4. Bad Luck

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

_Chapter IV: Bad Luck_

Author's Note: Ok I got a lot of requests XD Maybe I have to extend this story a little more. Well let's see what new Inventors will turn up? Keep up the Reviews XD Even Bad Criticism is appreciated!

* * *

_Act I: Tea Time_

_With 100 percent Less Tea!_

"Sorry, Lias…" Gusto replied with a sad expression. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble…"

"It's fine." Lias smiled lightly.

"So… How long you reckon it'll take to fix this place up?" Gusto asked.

"Maybe a week?" Lias replied.

"Man I REALLY messed up." Gusto sighed as he sat down in a pile of ash.

The two Smiths sat in the rubble of what was once the Peterny Workshop. Keyword is "_was_", what use to be the Workshop is now a burned pile of ash. Half the facility was blown up from their last incident. The Sun was setting. The Fresh, cool and crisp Summer Air was nice. An Orange shadow engulfed the Skies. Sunset was nice… the Skies of Elicoor would be a mixture of so many colors. He could see blue, purple, red, orange and golden shades. If Gusto was an Artist, Sunset would be the perfect scene to paint. Sadly, Gusto was a smith. He had no interest in paints and canvas. In a few hours, Night would be upon them and the Warm summer Atmosphere would be cold.

Of all the seasons Gusto loved summer. Nice and warm, he would enjoy being outdoors and working. Well anyway, back to recent news… A few days back Vanilla and Meryl invented a new bomb. It was mighty explosive… Gusto made the mistake of thinking it was a toy he broke the trigger and **_KABOOM_** went the Workshop. Meryl and Vanilla weren't _too _unhappy. On the contrary, they were thrilled their bomb was a success. They received high points for their invention. Sadly, the Guild wouldn't pay for the reconstruction… So the four Inventors had to pitch in and work to rebuild the Workshop. Meryl and Vanilla just left and now, Gusto and Lias were attempting to rebuild it.

Gusto with his massive muscles the size of his skills made great progress! The Workshop construction was coming along great! Too bad he felt guilty. He felt terrible that poor, quiet Lias was dragged in for his mistake. Sitting under the Summer Sunset the two Smiths sat on a bench in Peterny. Gusto was sweating from all the work and took a drink from a water bottle. They were having a break and dinner. Gusto was dark skinned, healthy looking and extremely buff. He was a great Smith and even though he may look intimidating he was actually kinder than most people thought. Lias was a shy, quiet spoken man with good judgment. He rarely lost his cool. He was quietly eating his salad beside the big Muscular dark skinned man.

"Your not mad…are you?" Gusto asked the quiet man.

"Of course not." Lias replied. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because… I broke that Popping toy…" Gusto replied, "And now you have to help me rebuild something you didn't destroy?"

"It's fine." Lias gave another small smile.

"You sure?" Gusto asked.

"Of course, besides It's good to help others." Lias answered.

Gusto stared. Yes, yes, it's rude to stare but he couldn't help it. It was scary enough that this quiet, reserved man was a _SMITH_. I mean, to Gusto he looked more like a Priest. He wore glasses, was highly educated and also a skilled Artist. He also wore some interesting garments. This man was polite, he also never talked much about him… all he does is smile shyly. But Gusto was shocked… this man was very skilled. That hammer he uses was twice his size yet he can use it _so_ well. The Large Smith took another drink from his cold water bottle. He felt the cold chill and began to stretch.

"HEYAAA" He yelled, "That's some nice water!"

"You should really calm down." Lias replied taking another bite of his salad.

"Why?" Gusto asked, "Its SOOO nice out!"

"You might attract unwanted attention…" Lias replied.

"What do you mean?" Gusto asked.

"..." Lias didn't answer. He was quietly chewing on his salad. Gusto then noticed some ladies walking by. They giggled as they saw the two men. The intimidating big guy was having a snack with a slim, quiet man… yeah… it's a pretty odd sight.

"Sorry Ladies." Gusto replied embarrassedly as he waved. The women continued to giggle as they walked past.

"What're you so quiet about?" Gusto asked his fellow Smith.

"What do you mean?" Lias asked looking up.

"I don't know, you seem so quiet." Gusto peered down at the man, "You troubled?"

"Of course not." Lias replied, "I'm perfectly fine."

"…" Gusto stared, his dark eyes eying his fellow smith.

"I'm sorry… is my silence making you uncomfortable?" Lias asked.

"Nah, that's not it." Gusto took another quick drink. He wiped the sweat with a clean towel that hung around his neck. "You're a hardworking man, I respect ya for that."

"Thank you." Lias smiled softly.

"…" Gusto watched as he drank from the water bottle in his mouth. _That smile is nice and all… but why does he seem so sad_? Lias walked over to the garbage can and dumped his left over salad and biscuits into the bin. Hanging from his belt he was dragging his massive hammer. The two Smiths returned to the Workshop and began to rebuild it. Gusto was working on one of the support beams. There was an awkward silence…

"You really gotta lighten up." Gusto broke the silence. He had nails in his mouth as he hammered the wood into place. "Sad smiles make me feel sad too, ya know?"

"Sorry…" Lias was painting over a wall that Gusto finished earlier.

"It's nothing to apologize for, man… You gotta be polite all the time?" Gusto wiped some more sweat from his forehead as he hammered the nails in.

"Hey! I know!" Gusto tapped Lias in the back, "How bout you and me go out and grab a drink sometime? Beer would be nice."

"A drink…?" Lias asked pushing the glasses up between his eyes, the slam from the big guy made his glasses tilt.

"Yeah, it'd be great!" Gusto laughed, "Nothing like a nice drink after work!"

"A drink? After work?" Lias asked.

"What? You got a lady to go back home to or something?" Gusto asked, he was laughing heartily. "We men need our drinks!"

"No that's not it…" Lias replied nervously, "Are you going home anytime soon?"

"Nah!" Gusto laughed, "I'm a big boy! I can stay up late if I wanted! Come on, man!"

"Come on…?" Lias asked.

"Laugh with me!" Gusto began to laugh, his voice echoing across the now Dark Peterny. "Laughing makes all your troubles go away!"

"You're really carefree aren't you?" Lias asked. He smiled, this time it wasn't as sad.

"That's what they say!" Gusto replied.

Suddenly there was a small yelling. Lias attempted to hear it over Gusto's booming laughter… whatever it was… it was faint but it came closer. Lias covered Gusto's mouth. The big man became quiet abruptly.

"Shh… do you hear that?" Lias asked.

"Hear what?" Gusto asked his voice muffled by Lias' hand.

"It sounds like a yell of some sort…" Lias replied. The two men heard intently… they definitely heard _something_.

"eeee…eeeee..."

The two men listened intently… _what was that noise_? It sounded kind of like a wounded animal…

"Eeeee….**EEEEYAAAAAAH**!"

The two men looked up. The noise was coming from above. Something or _Someone_ was falling from the sky. Gusto stared at it oddly; it was hard to make out in the darkened sky. Whoever or whatever it was it landed straight in Gusto's outstretched arms. The two men stared… it was a woman… with wings… She had pale lavender hair and a dreamily dazed expression on her face.

"Egad!" Gusto jumped, "First it was raining like cats and dogs! Now it's raining women!"

"She looks familiar…" Lias peered at the woman in Gusto's arms.

"Well whoever she is, she fainted…Out cold…" Gusto replied, "And she's light as a feather too!"

"Hmm?" Lias looked up.

"No, seriously!" Gusto lifted her up with one hand, "See? Light as a feather! I know women like to keep an eye out on their figure and all, but this lady is REALLY LIGHT. She must be dieting like crazy!"

"Oh!" Lias looked up, pushing up his small glasses, "This is Miss Stanice!"

"Miss Stanice? The lady with the wings?" Gusto asked.

"Yes," Lias pointed at the wings, "See?"

"It _is_ Miss Stanice…" Gusto was surprised, "Wonder where she's been? She hasn't come to work in days!"

"Well… let's put her down over here." Lias pulled out a sofa that was usually used by Mishell while reading. The backside of the Workshop was thankfully undamaged. Gusto put her down on the sofa beside a small lamp. She was out cold. Fainted or fallen asleep... either way she was unconscious. Gusto believed her to have fainted... Lias believe she was merely taking a nap. She gave some soft snoring noises and mumbled... yet she wouldn't wake up when they tapped her. They drew up two conclusions...

A) She's a Heavy Sleeper...

B) She talks when she's unconscious...

Well either way they couldn't do much... therefore, the two men went back to work. They were almost done with another wall. Lias even grabbed a ladder and worked on the ceiling. It was quiet, the cold summer air blowing past them. Gusto was getting bored, it was really dark. The only lights emanated from the few lanterns they lit around the broken Workshop. The clock by the book case rang; it was almost 9:00.

"Are you going home anytime soon?" Gusto asked the Dark haired Smith.

"Well…" Lias looked down, "I'm not in any rush."

"You sure? It's getting kind of late." Gusto replied, "You might need the rest."

"I hope you're not calling me weak, Mr. Gusto." Lias asked defiantly.

"I ain't calling you weak! You're pretty good, actually! And did you just call me Mister?" Gusto laughed, "HAH! That's new!"

"I can handle myself." Lias replied. "Don't you have to go home as well?"

"Nah, usually I'd hit the bar at this hour." Gusto began, "But it looks like I can't go anywhere leaving the lady behind." He looked at Stanice who was snoring on the couch, "As you can see, we got company."

Lias nodded, "Yes, we do…"

Suddenly, Miss Stanice woke up. She looked around confused.

"That's strange…" She replied dazedly, "This doesn't seem like the usual tree I sleep in…"

The two Smiths Jumped. "Stanice? You awake?" Gusto asked.

"Miss Stanice! We didn't noticed you were awake, my apologies!" Lias replied.

"Good morning…" Stanice gave a dizzy smile, "My, I wonder where I landed this time?"

"Err… I have two things I want to point out to you." Gusto replied, "First, it's not morning… It's 9:00 at night…"

"My, no wonder it was so dark." Stanice gave a smile, "Dear me, I must have fallen asleep above the clouds. Usually I land in a tree somewhere."

"Tree…?" Lias asked nervously, his shaky finger was holding his glasses in place.

"And second…You're not in a tree either." Gusto replied.

"I must have landed on someone's roof again!" Stanice smiled, "Oops…"

"Actually," Lias replied, "You landed in the Peterny Workshop."

"Really?" Stanice laughed, "What luck! I was hoping I'd come to work today. But… it looks so different now, did someone redecorate?"

"No…" Gusto coughed, "The Work day was over a while ago and also… there was no redecorating involved. It was more of an _accident_."

"Oh…" Stanice began to think, "So what are you two doing here?"

"Fixing up the Accident." Lias replied with a smile.

"Do you need any help?" Stanice asked.

"Nah, we're good." Gusto laughed, "You should never let a lady work when there are men around!"

"I see." Stanice smiled. "But aren't you two cold? Or hungry?"

"We're alright." Lias replied. "Please relax, Miss Stanice."

"Hmm… ok…" She crossed her legs on the sofa. Her long dress rippling in the cool breeze, she found a stuffed animal and held it in her arms as she watched the two men work. It looked like a blue hippo… "What a nice looking doll, I wonder who made it."

"Who knows?" Gusto replied hammering the nails in. "Toys are dangerous these days…"

"What do you mean?" Stanice asked.

"A few days ago, Lias and I found a cute doll and we pulled on a metal ring…" He placed another wooden beam on the wall, "The dangerous toy blew up… we shouldn't distribute it to kids."

"It was a _bomb…" _Lias corrected Gusto, "And the metal ring was a _bomb trigger…_"

"This doesn't look like a toy I've ever seen." Stanice looked at the toy oddly… "Maybe Mr. Evia and Miss Aqua made it…"

"How the heck was I supposed to know the toy could explode?" Gusto asked, "Never trust toys with metal rings on their heads!"

"Like this Metal ring?" Stanice asked pulling the small metal ring off the Hippo's head. The two men paused and stared. "Oh dear… I think I broke the toy…"

_BEEEEEEEEEEEP_

"Oh no!" Lias grabbed the doll and handed it to Gusto. "Miss Stanice, watch out!"

"It's another Exploding Animal!" Gusto looked around frantically. He looked at his hammer… _what did he learn before? Smashing it to bits makes it worse_… Toss it into a fire place? No… that wouldn't work either. He stared at the blinking eyes of the Hippo.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

"Gusto!" Lias yelled, "Throw it away!"

"But where?" Gusto asked.

"I don't know… Up!" Lias yelled.

"UP?" Gusto looked up at the Starry Night sky.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

"Quickly, Gusto!" Lias yelled.

"Ok, here goes NOTHING!" He tossed the Hippo as high as his arms could toss and as far as his strength could throw. The Hippo went flying in the air spinning… its red eyes still blinking.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP_

"Hit the Deck!" Gusto jumped for cover.

"Get down, Miss Stanice!" Lias and Stanice ducked behind the Sofa.

_BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP_

_…_

_… …_

_… Any moment now…_

_**KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The three stared as the Sky began to Light up with lights. Red Lights, White Lights, Blue Lights, Gold Lights… Peterny was flooded in light.

"My, how pretty…" Stanice smiled.

"Yes," Lias fixed his glasses back on his eyes, "That was close…"

"Whew," Gusto wiped his forehead with the towel, "A little longer and we'd be goners!"

"Well now that we have a nice show," Stanice took Lias and Gusto's hand, "How about we have some tea?"

"Well Actually I was planning on having some Beer-!" Gusto began but Lias hit him in the stomach with his hammer.

"Gusto!" Lias replied sternly.

"I mean… Yeah! Tea sounds great! I love Tea!" Gusto replied.

"That's great!" Stanice smiled as she pulled them out of the half destroyed Workshop, "Let's go have some nice tea then! Maybe even some cookies!"

"You'd think after she was almost blown up... she'd be a little less carefree." Gusto replied as he was being dragged by the Winged Craftsman.

"Well… That's miss Stanice for you." Lias replied smiling for real now. Gusto stared…

"Hey…" Gusto asked slyly, "You like her don't ya?"

"Wha-?" Lias asked his shy face turning bright red. "What do you mean?"

"Come on... you can tell me." Gusto replied with a sly smirk, "You two are so adorable!"

"Gusto? What are you talking about?" Lias asked his face red. "Me? And _Miss Stanice_?"

"Haha!" Gusto laughed, "Young Love is so sweet!" Gusto ran ahead leaving the winged Stanice and Lias behind. "Come on you two lovebirds!"

"Hey wait-!" Lias chased after, "Gusto! Wait up! Get back here!"

"Nah, I don't wanna!" Gusto laughed. "And I meant what I said!"

"What did you say?" Lias asked chasing after the big guy. "Gusto! Come back!"

"A melancholy dude like you needs a Carefree gal like her!" Gusto began, "Nothing like Young Romance!"

"GUSTO!" Lias called.

The two men ran down the streets of Peterny. Stanice floated behind them with a calm smile on her face.

"My, I didn't know you two liked Tea that much." Stanice smiled, "How nice…"

_Act II: The Black Cat_

Midnight… It was dark. Misty Lear drifted off in a deep sleep. The Golden Moon was hanging lowly in the night sky. Misty Lear slowly opened her eyes, it was still dark. She couldn't find it in her to sleep. Maybe because it wasn't her home… maybe that's why she feels so awkward. But then again, Mackwell wanted her to stay. This brought a relaxing comfort to her. The Feeling of being wanted, the feeling of being cared for… this was the feeling she craved for so long. She stared at the ceiling, the glow of the moon passing through the curtains that hung from the Balcony door. The grandfather clock out in the halls echoed its haunting chimes. Misty Lear was about to drift back asleep when she heard a low creak. She quickly got up and scanned the dark room. The room was empty… She looked around cautiously. _She heard something_.

"Mackwell… is that you?" She asked. Her voice was suspiciously shaky.

There was no reply.

_How strange…_ If it was Mackwell, he would have definitely have answered. He wasn't the type to play a trick… let alone sneak around at night. But then again, Misty Lear didn't know much about Mackwell. Other than the information given by the Inventor's Guild she knew quite little. There was another soft creak, she looked up. The Balcony door was open. The cold summer breeze blew into the room. Despite the warm weather during the day… the Summer Nights were actually quite chilly. Misty Lear quietly got up and closed the balcony door. With a soft 'click' she turned the lock on the door. It was made of glass with wooden frames. She peered at the Night sky. The Many stars glittering in the night as well as the low hanging moon, the moon looked so clear and bright.

Misty Lear remembered a story she once heard. It was told by a stranger she once met. The story was also a song… she couldn't remember how it went. But she remembered the title… it was called, "Bloody August". That man had a nice voice; she remembered the haunting melody only slightly.

_The moon will hang low in…In the dark summer sky_

_But this is only summer's gentle show…_

_In the morning day one will feel happiness that will soon fly_

_Among the blue, soaring like the jet black crow_

_But eventually one will hear the gentle cry…_

_The summer moon, the summer sun will all feel man's sorrow_

_Once Night… finally falls again._

Misty Lear couldn't remember the rest of the Lyrics. All she could remember was that the rest of the song made her feel sad… That must be why she forgot. She walked back to her bed, suddenly, something suddenly jumped from out of her sheets. Whatever it was, it startled her. She jumped back in surprise. She slowly walked forward. It was a cat…

"Oh, you scared me." Misty Lear smiled in relief.

The Cat had soft fur. It was black with glowing yellow eyes. Misty Lear gently pets the cat, it purred as it was being scratched behind the ear. It was very adorable… Around its neck was a small collar. The collar was red, and on it was a small gold tag. Engraved in the tag was a name: 'Kuro'.

"Where'd you come from?" Misty Lear asked the small feline. The cat only purred as it rubbed itself on her arm. "Don't scare me like that…"

"You must be one of Mackwell's darlings…" She put the cat down on the floor and opened the door. The cat walked out of the room it gazed back at the lady. Misty Lear waved as the Cat slowly disappeared in the shadows of the dark hallway. She paused… then walked out into the dark hallway. Only the lamps in the halls were lit. It cast eerie shadows against the walls. She slowly made herself toward Mackwell's room. Surprisingly… the door was unlocked. She expected him to be awake. The lights inside his room were still on.

"Mackwell…?" She whispered opening the door with a light creak. She walked in, the room was warm. Misty Lear was still in her dark gown, she peered over at Mackwell. He must have fallen asleep fast… his glasses were still on his eyes. She gently pulled them off and placed them on the table. His cats, who were watching from the desk, stared at the mysterious guest that was in their master's room. She pulled the blankets over him and smiled. _He looked so carefree when he slept_… Finally, she silently turned off the lights in his room and without a word exited.

Misty Lear returned to her bed, she slumped into the sheets. It was late… She gave a small sigh. Gently, she placed the sheets over her and within moments she drifted into a relaxing sleep.

**(Uhh...Next Scene?)**

Mackwell lay on his bed. The sheets were askew and his mind was elsewhere. He slept very well last night, a little too well. It was 10:30 A.M which was extremely late; he wouldn't forgive himself _if he was following his schedule_. Luckily, today he promised to take the day off. He overslept, and for the first time it felt really good. He reached for his glasses on the table, his messy silver hair covering his face. The Sunlight streamed through his window. He got up out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He gazed in the mirror, his silver hair was messy and his face looked healthier than usual. _Sleep was actually good_… He didn't show any signs of illness at all. He washed his face and made his way down to the kitchen without even getting dressed. He was surprised who he saw there…

"Good morning." Misty Lear smiled, "My, you are late this morning."

"My apologies." Mackwell smiled, his hand brushed through his messy silver hair, "I thought maybe today I would take the day off."

"I'm sure that would be best." Misty Lear replied. Her gentle smile was really nice… especially for so early in the morning. In her hands seemed to be a book. She sat on the small table. From behind her Mackwell could see the dining room… A room he never really used.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" Mackwell asked. He reached into a cupboard and pulled out two cups.

"Actually, yes I did." Misty Lear replied, "What about you?"

"It was better…" Mackwell handed the cup to Misty Lear. "Coffee…? Or perhaps you might want some tea?"

"I'll have whatever you're drinking." Misty Lear replied. "It wouldn't be very polite if I chose anything else."

"I don't mind…" Mackwell replied, "I rarely have guests, anyway."

"Well… Tea, if you don't mind…" Lear nodded, "Thank you, by the way… It is very kind of you to let me stay."

"Don't mention it." Mackwell responded, he began to boil some water. Well… he had lots of different kinds of tea he never really tasted before. There was green tea, herbal tea, Chamomile, Lemon tea and Jasmine tea. He didn't really know which one she wanted. Misty Lear appeared behind him; she took his hand and pulled out the herbal tea.

"This one's my favorite." She replied.

Mackwell smiled lightly.

"Maybe I should cook some breakfast." Lear suggested, "Seeing as I am a guest…"

"It would be rude for a guest of the house to do chores." Mackwell replied, "If you're hungry I wouldn't mind making something… Though, I'm not very good at cooking. Maybe some simple meals I'll be able to do."

"Please, allow me." Misty Lear got up, "I must insist, you've already done so much for me."

"…" Mackwell stared then silently nodded.

While Misty Lear silently cooked Mackwell brewed the tea and fed his cats. From afar… one would think they were _husband and wife_. But let's not get ahead of ourselves (xD).

"Are you going to the Workshop today?" Mackwell asked as he pets his cats.

"Yes, actually…" Lear replied, "I promised Eliza I would help her today."

"I see…" Mackwell sighed.

"What's wrong?" Misty Lear asked, "Are you going to miss me Mackwell?"

"What do you mean?" Mackwell asked.

"You sounded like you were sad to hear me leave." Misty Lear replied with a shy smile.

"What? I mean of course I'll miss you." Mackwell replied, "Wait- no… I don't… _No I do but_… I don't know what you're talking about!" Mackwell's face turned red. Misty Lear gave a slight giggle. Mackwell's eyes widened… _she looked really cute_… Mackwell got up.

"Hey…" Mackwell smiled, "You should laugh more… you look cuter."

"What?" Misty Lear's face turned red now, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I meant…" Mackwell sighed, "Well, have fun at work… I'll wait for you to come home. I'll probably do some chores or something…"

Misty Lear gave another small giggle, "You kind of make it sound like we're husband and wife or something…"

"What?" Mackwell replied, "Stop fooling around, woman! You keep putting words in my mouth!" His face was red.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry…" Misty Lear giggled, "You don't have to be _that_ angry…"

Misty Lear and Mackwell sat for breakfast. Misty Lear's food was very… exotic. Nothing that Mackwell ever ate before. But then again, it's not like Mackwell ever eats breakfast. Usually he's too busy following his schedule therefore he waits for lunch. Misty Lear's cooking wasn't bad… but then again Mackwell didn't expect her to be a fabulous cook. If she was… well then she would have enrolled for cooking rather than Alchemy. They ate their meals silently. After, Mackwell said his farewells to Misty Lear.

"Have fun…" Mackwell replied leaning by the door. In his arms was one of his cats. For once, he wore a clear white collared button down shirt and black pants. He looked a bit happier than usual.

"Thanks," Misty Lear bowed, "Have fun as well, Mackwell."

"Yeah…" Mackwell put the small cat down and grabbed Misty Lear's wrist. He pulled her close and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I'll be seeing you at 7 then?"

Misty Lear's pale face was now red. "O-of course…"

"Be careful." Mackwell smiled, he could see some of his suitors/ fangirls waiting and watching… Some were dumbstruck with utter shock on their face.

_Who was this girl?_

_And why was she living in MACKWELL's House? _

_Maybe she's a house maid?_

_No way… She couldn't be his fiancée could she?_

_I can't believe she got a kiss from Mackwell! Lucky Girl!_

"I'll see you tonight." Misty Lear pulled the hood over her head and walked away. She walked out the front gate, her head covered with the cloak and hood. Her face was hot and bright red. _He kissed her… again_! Before she disappeared around the corner she glanced back at Mackwell's house. He already retreated back into his home… but from the window she could see. A Small Black Cat staring down at her. Its golden eyes fixed on her. She blinked… but the cat was then gone. She slowly shook her head and walked through Aquios… ready to begin her day.

_Act III: Losing Sanity…little by little everyday_

"_Psst_…" Puffy whispered under the table. "This is getting _too_ weird…"

"I must agree…" Cornelius sighed, "This isn't what you considered normal."

"Maybe this is what people call divine retribution..." Puffy began to think.

"Chilico believes everything is weird." Chilico replied happily, "Chilico believes everybody is weird too."

"Hey… watch who you're calling weird, short stuff." Puffy replied. She pushed her golden bangs behind her ears, "From out of us you might be the weirdest of them all."

"Now, now Children…" Cornelius attempted to ease the tension, "Let's not fight…"

"Come on Cornelius!" Puffy pouted, "That girl is barely two feet tall and has wings… now THAT is weird."

"Ok, ok, we're all weird." Cornelius sighed, "The main question is, what's going on?"

"Actually," Puffy corrected Cornelius, "The REAL Question is why we're whispering underneath a _TABLE_! It smells funny down here!"

The three of them resurfaced over the table. The Workshop was a mess. Many things were dropped on the floor and tossed about. The Sudden writing on the mirror scared the heck out of _everybody_. Fayt who attempted to calm everyone down was yelled at the most. He was to blame, the fool read a CURSE from the Goddamn BOOK! If a Book is written in blood and has curses in it, you OBVIOUSLY don't read it! Let alone Read it Out loud! The Blizzard outside was getting worse, normally Airyglyph is use to such weather conditions but this is as bad as it can get. When Dejison returned from fixing the lights he was half frozen to death. The Snow was piling up close to 3 or 4 Feet! No way can they get home now! So those 7 Inventors were stuck… in a Workshop… together… with a Vengeful Spirit…Yep, it doesn't get better than this. They tried to be calm… It didn't help much.

The Mirror was still shattered, the Book was still open and everyone was still going crazy. Dejison was attempting to thaw himself out, Osman the Sage tried to ignore the noise, Noppin and Grats were chasing Fayt around the room and Puffy, Chilico and Cornelius were discussing everything as _calmly_ as possible.

"If we run out of food..." Puffy replied, "The first person we're going to eat is Fayt, right?"

"Maybe…" Chilico replied.

"Let's not think about it." Cornelius replied, "I'm sure we have enough food for everyone."

"Hey, Cornelius…" Puffy pointed out the window, "Unless you haven't noticed… We aren't going _anywhere_, anytime soon."

"Try to think positive, I'm sure everything will…" Cornelius paused as he stared out at the raging flurry, "Alright, we're doomed…"

"That's the spirit!" Puffy replied, "Seriously? How long can we last? We're running out of firewood so we'll probably end up burning books."

"Please…" Cornelius sank in his seat, "I don't want to think about it…"

"Sooner or later, we'll end up being cannibals and eat each other." Puffy continued.

"You must _really_ feel bitter, Puffy…" Chilico replied, "Not your happy self?"

"Nope…" Puffy took out a small medicine pill from her back pocket. "Don't worry, you guys. If we do turn Cannibalism then I'll pop this baby in the first man's mouth and they'll be exploded from the inside in a second!"

"What's the point in that?" Cornelius asked.

"We'll have some nice hot meat." Puffy made an evil grin, "I'm a genius…"

"Eat each other?" Chilico asked.

"Hey, be glad... you'll be the last one we eat." Puffy sighed, "Your just a small pixi-fairy thingy with no meat..."

"At least Chilico has this pretty sparkling good luck charm." Chilico began to hug something in her arms, "Chilico happy…"

"What is that?" Puffy asked.

"Chilico's shiny, pretty good luck charm…" She held it up; due to her small size the Shiny gold metal was pretty large in her tiny hands. It was a single gold Fol.

"That's a Fol…" Puffy replied.

"Chilico's lucky Fol…" Chilico replied back.

"Ok we've all gone mad, senile, crazy or all three…" Puffy sighed as she leaned her head on the table… "Now, I'm bored…"

"Why not try writing…?" Cornelius asked handing her a sheet of paper, "It helps me pass the time."

"Fine…" Puffy sighed, "I'll write…"

"You'll find writing to be a rather enjoyable experience…"

"Yeah, Yeah…" Puffy began to scribble on the paper. "You're starting to sound like that old man, Osman… or maybe you've gone into early senility like that Noppin guy?"

"Neither." Cornelius replied. "I'm just expressing my love of literature."

"Mmhmm..." Puffy scribbled more words on the sheet.

"Ok, I'm done." Puffy handed the paper to Cornelius. Cornelius just stared… the paper was covered from back to front with the same phrase, same words, and same thing all over. What it read was:

"We're screwed, We're screwed, We're screwed, We're screwed, We're screwed, We're screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed, We're Screwed,

…Get the Picture Cornelius? We're screwed!

"How very...err... creative." Cornelius replied handing the paper back to Puffy.

"Yes..." Puff began to laugh, "That calmed me down... heh...heh..."

Both Chilico and Cornelius backed away from Puffy. The Small girl was now laughing hysterically… it seems being secluded in a Workshop of weirdoes, during a blizzard, Cursed, hungry, and extremely bored has eaten away her sanity. This was definitely new to Puffy… it was kind of scary… I mean, Cornelius saw her angry before but… now it was just creepy.

"Ok, stand clear from the psycho…" Cornelius replied inching away.

"Oh, your one to talk." Chilico replied. "Just stop saying things…"

"Stop saying what?" Cornelius asked.

"Thank you!" Chilico pat Puffy in the back, "its ok Puffy… someone will come and help us sooner or later…"

"We're doomed! Doomed I say!" Puffy moaned, "I'll grow old and senile and mad along with all these other crackpot old fools!"

"Look at the bright side." Chilico replied.

"What bright side?" Puffy asked.

"We'll be mad, senile and crazy together!" Chilico replied happily.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Puffy yelled, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

"Ok… how about…" Chilico continued as she held up her lucky Fol. "At least we still have my Good luck Charm!"

"Ok…" Cornelius replied, "I think we should stop now… Puffy just fainted from shock…"

"What do we do?" Chilico asked.

"Maybe if we leave her there she might calm down." Cornelius suggested.

"Or… she could wake up and kill us all." Chilico replied.

"Let's not take our chances…" Cornelius inched away from the Unconscious girl.

"You sir, must take responsibility!" Noppin yelled pointing an accused pen at Fayt. "Because of you, we are all cursed! Doomed to oblivion! Fated for Death!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Fayt yelled, "Besides, It's probably just a stupid prank to scare us!"

"This is the last straw, if we all die a bloody and gruesome death I blame it on you!"

"Watch who you're stabbing that pen at." Fayt replied running out of Noppin's pen range.

"If we die I shall haunt you for life... and death." Noppin pouted. He sat on his table and pulled out a sheet of paper, "I must write my final note to the world! I will not leave this world without leaving my words! I am a Count!"

Everyone stared, "Talk about over dramatic…"

"Look, I can get us out of here, easy." Fayt replied. He placed his hand over the door.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Everyone yelled.

"Do you WANT us to Freeze to death, you uneducated buffoon!" Noppin yelled.

"Of course not!" Fayt snapped, he didn't appreciate being called an "uneducated buffoon", "I'll just use some Symbology and melt the ice!"

"I don't know…" Puffy replied waking up, "Something tells me this will be bad news…"

"Puffy! You're awake!" Chilico flew up to the girl, "Are you still homicidal?"

"No, no…" Puffy waved, "Just hungry…"

"If I use Symbology, the snow will be gone and everything will be A-ok!" Fayt placed his hand over the ice, "Come to my Aid!"

Everyone watched with keen interest.

"EXPLOSION!" Fayt's hand began to glow as a Ball of Fire began to melt the snow. The Entire Workshop began to shake from the impact. And everyon in the Workshop began to run around frantically. This fool was _trying _to kill them! NOBODY USES EXPLOSION! _Let alone indoors with other people in it!_

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?" Noppin yelled hiding under the table.

"Of course not!" Fayt replied. "This'll only take a few more seconds!"

"Yeah, A few seconds until we all die!" Puffy yelled. The entire workshop was trembling. The Snow was melting alright, but the water began to freeze just as fast due to the cold weather. They formed into long Ice spears and for some strange reason it shot out at Fayt. Fayt quickly moved out of the way as the ice Spears began to shoot inside the Warehouse.

"That wasn't supposed to happen…" Fayt stared.

"What part of 'We're cursed and doomed' do you not understand?" Puffy asked. Fayt inched backwards into the Workshop he was right in front of the giant mirror. Now they were hungry, doomed and COLD. Fayt punched the wall.

"DAMNIT!" He yelled smacking the Mirror.

"Oh… you asked for it." Puffy replied with a smirk.

The Mirror that he punched now had a deep crack… it slowly spread across the reflective surface. Everyone hid back underneath the table… The Deep Cracks were slowly spreading all around. In less than a minute the Massive Mirror shattered into a million pieces on the floor.

"Crap…" Fayt replied.

"Oooh." Puffy giggled, "Looks like that's 13 Years of Bad Luck… and 13 Years of Curses for you, fool!"

_Act IV: Shattered Like Broken Glass_

"So you promise you won't tell anyone?" Misty Lear asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Eliza replied.

"Ok… I'll tell you then." Misty Lear smiled.

The Two Alchemists were underneath their own work table. Eliza was curious in Miss Lear's sudden change in mood and wondered what was wrong. The girl was also curious in what happened to Mackwell the other day. She was worried…

"Ok…" Misty Lear took a deep breath. "I'm living with Mackwell…"

"**_REALLY_**?" Eliza shrieked.

"_Shhh_… Eliza you _promised_." Misty Lear covered the small girl's mouth. Everyone stared in their direction.

"Oops… I mean… _really_?" Eliza asked reducing into an excited whisper, "What? When? Where? How? Oh my god! This is so great!"

"That's what I'd like to know…" Lear replied, "But… It's only temporary…"

"How long did Mr. Mackwell say you can stay?" Eliza asked.

"He didn't specify but… he said I could stay as long as I wanted…" Misty Lear answered. "Not that I would… I mean, it's a generous offer and all… but-!"

"You should really stay…" Eliza's eyes were bright, "Oh my god, this is so exciting! I knew you and Mackwell were perfect for each other! It's like… Divine Fate! I mean... It's so romantic... and Miss Lear you have to admit..."

"Admit what?" Lear asked.

Eliza giggled, "He looks really cute..."

"Well..." Misty Lear's face was red, "I suppose he is rather... err... _good looking_."

"And you are beautiful too! It's perfect!" Eliza shrieked, "Kind of like a _Fairy tale_... I wish I found a man like Mr. Mackwell..."

"Well..." Misty Lear smiled, "I'm sure you'll find someone."

"So why isn't he at work today?" Eliza asked, "He's not still sick is he?"

"No, he's fine..." Lear replied, her hands were swiftly moving across the table constructing another Homunculus. "He just thought he might take a day off."

"That's good..." Eliza slipped out of her seat and walked over to the Chemical rack, "He deserves a nice day's rest."

Misty Lear and Eliza worked quietly and quickly. Everyone noticed… she seemed happier than usual. While she was working she hummed to herself and bore a sweet smile throughout the work hours. Well… I guess if you lived in Mackwell's house you'd be happy too. No one really knew why she acted the way she did… but it was nice. Everyone else seemed to be in a bright and cheery mood as well. Misty Lear was excited... she couldn't wait to go home... well technically it was Mackwell's home... but it sure felt inviting. The day was nice, the sky a deep blue and the white clouds drifting peacefully over the country of Aquaria. What surprised them even more... was during the Lunch break Misty Lear was about to treat Eliza with a meal but Mackwell dropped by. He wore his casual clothes and in his hands were three lunch boxes.

"Oh my god... Mr. Mackwell what are you doing here?" Eliza asked.

"Thought I'd drop by..." Mackwell replied handing the boxes over to Misty Lear and Eliza. "You two must be hungry, right?"

"You didn't have to..." Misty Lear blushed. Mackwell shook his head and firmly placed the lunchbox in her hands.

"It's fine..." Mackwell winked.

"Thank you..." Misty Lear whispered. "It means alot to us..."

"Mr. Mackwell... I mean Mackwell..." Eliza began, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you Eliza." Mackwell pet Eliza with a sincere smile, "You have my grattitude... I heard you took good care of me. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"As long as your ok!" Eliza smiled, "How's your break? And your stay with Miss Lear-!" Eliza quickly covered her mouth. "Oops..."

"It's been pretty good actually..." Mackwell replied. He turned around ready to walk away, "See you later... Miss Lear, Miss Eliza..."

Misty Lear spotted some of his admirers hiding behind the nearby fences. They stared enviously and shocked. _Mackwell... their Mackwell... made her LUNCH_?

"Wait!" Eliza called, "There's three! Aren't you going to eat with us?"

"No thanks, the third one is for your little brother." Mackwell answered back waving. "I'll be waiting back at home. Later."

Lear and Eliza waved back. This was new... Mackwell was actually cheery... Yeah... that was a little _too _strange. Misty Lear looked down at the Lunch box in her hands. The two were curious... _Mackwell knew how to cook_? Well... he does live by himself...So it doesn't sound too farfetched. Eliza quickly unwrapped the Lunch box with her name on it. She stared in shock. Inside was a whole assortment of food. Rice, Vegetables, Spiced Chicken, some sweet sauce, Fish... There was even small cookies on the side for dessert. Eliza took a deep breath. The last time she ever had a boxed lunch was when her mom made it for her...

"Miss Lear?" Eliza addressed the pale faced beauty.

"Yes, Eliza?" Misty Lear asked.

"What did you do with Mr. Mackwell?" Eliza asked closing the boxed lunch.

"Umm... nothing actually..." Misty Lear replied. "Nothing much anyway..."

"Well then..." Eliza smiled, "Oh My god! You must be a Miracle worker or _SOMETHING_!"

"... I don't know about that..." Misty Lear was quite startled.

Eliza had one of the cookied in her hand and took a bite. She couldn't help it... "Mmm... _THIS IS DELICIOUS_!"

(**Next Scene**)

Mackwell spent most of the day cleaning his house. He didn't remember the last time he ever stayed home... He doubt he ever took a break. Usually the days were the same, he worked till the Workshop or his Workday was over... he went home and fed his cats, read books from the library, and if he came home early he would clean his house. It was a boring lifestyle but he grew accustomed to it. After dropping off their lunch he made his way up to the Library in Castle Aquios. Most of the women... and men... gasped when they saw him. There was Mackwell, the always fancily dressed, very strict work-a-holic... he was wearing casual clothes for once... and he bore a smile on his usually emotionless face. The men thought it as a bad omen... the women thought he was _even more dreamier_ than usual. Mackwell made his way to the maze of books. He was greeted by the shy librarian girl.

"Oh... Mr. Mackwell your rather early today..." The Librarian picked up her glasses.

"Sorry, Miss Leila." Mackwell replied, "I'm taking a break from my usual schedule today."

"My, really?" The Librarian girl couldn't help but stare at Mackwell's... appearance. "Well, that's nice..."

Normally Mackwell would come sometime in the Afternoon on Mondays. Leila knew this well. She would always greet him as he swiftly made his way. She admired his punctuality and determination. Often times when she was sorting out the books she would daydream as she watched him reading in his usual corner. She admired him greatly for not only his good looks but his brilliant intelligence. But Leila was shy... she would never outwardly speak to him except for her daily greetings or if he couldn't find a book in particular.

"Do you need assistance?" Leila asked.

"Well, now that you mention it, yes I do." Mackwell replied, "I was looking for a certain book..."

"What book do you need?" Leila asked. She read many books in this library. Though it was pretty much impossible to Read EVERY book she read a fair amount. Many Scholars and Alchemists such as Mackwell read a decent amount but no one ever read every single book. It was impossible...

"I was hoping too look for a cook book..." Mackwell answered. "There was a really good one I saw a few days ago."

"Cook book?" Leila asked. "Well, I'll try to find it for you, Mackwell sir..."

"I can find it on my own, no need to go through all that trouble..." Mackwell replied.

"No, no It's fine..." Leila began to skimm through the sections of the Library. She was curious... she just had to ask.

"Are you planning on Cooking a meal?" Leila asked.

Mackwell gave a small smile, "Yes actually... I plan on cooking something rather special..."

"Rude of me to butt in..." Leila found the book, "Who's it for...?" She handed the Cook book to Mackwell. Mackwell nodded in thanks as he tucked the book in his bag. He paused at the question...

"Someone...rather dear to me."

**(Later That Night...)**

Mackwell fed his cats, cleaned his house, watered his garden and even took an afternoon Nap. It was very refreshing taking a day off... he planned to do it again soon. But he had much on his mind... Tomorrow he was to return to work and continue his schedule. It was a Tuesday... Tuesdays would be busy. He brushed his hand through his silver hair. It was almost 7... The Dinner was set on the table and his house was quiet. He lay on his long sofa in his living room... the Fireplace burned brightly. Even though it was summer... winter nights were pretty cold. Sometimes the Cold breeze from the Mountains of Airyglyph would drift down... And everyone knew... Airyglyph snowed almost all year round. But Summer in Aquaria meant there was a cold, dangerous winter in Airyglyph. They were on different Hemispheres...

The Clock in the Hallway chimed... It was 7:00... How strange... Mackwell was punctual all the time. He would be at the right spot at exactly the right time. He knew that Misty Lear was not punctual... she was early for _everything_. Yet... it was already 7. His cats have went to bed not long after their dinner and now Mackwell was alone. The Sky was now a mixture of various colors... it was almost sun down. The sweet aroma of dinner was drifting from the kitchen and around the house. He waited...

Soon time began to move...

It was 7:10...

Then 7:20...

Not long after 7:30...

Finally it was 8:00 P.M... The Sun was now setting behind the mountains. Mackwell got up and walked to the door. _Where was she? She was never late before... _Mackwell opened the door. The Cool Summer Breeze blew past him. He put a cloak around his shoulders... he gazed out at the Streets of Aquios. No one was in sight. He began to worry..._ No... Be calm... _Mackwell thought, _There's nothing to worry about... She's just late..._ He closed the doors and returned in his house. _How strange..._ Mackwell then heard a sudden knock on the door. He turned around carefully and opened the door.

"Your rather late..." Mackwell replied as he flung the door open. "Hurry inside or you're dinner will get cold...?"

There was no one in sight... He looked around. Nothing... He was about to close the door again when he noticed something on the floor. It was a rolled up piece of parchment and a small bundle. He picked it up and undid the bundle first. Inside was a small Glass figurine of a cat. It had small sparkling eyes and a Neatly crafted Body. He stared at it... The quality was very nice... On the bottom was the words scratched in the bottom in cursive writing:

_To: Mackwell_

_From: Misty Lear _

He smiled as he held the small Cat in his hands. He then opened the rolled up piece of parchment and stared cautiously. _A statue made by Misty Lear... and a note_... Mackwell opened the Parchment and read the context. He stared wide eyed at first... then he gave a small gasp. He dropped the Glass Cat and it shattered on the floor in pieces. The note... the letters were written in Emerald colored Ink... His eyes wide. The Note read:

_You will Never see her..._

_This Beauty will never again see the light of day _

_She will remain with us..._

_My apologies for being the bearers of bad news_

_We won't allow it... Never..._

_You are ours... and ours alone. _

"Miss Lear..." Mackwell whispered. The Darkness began to envelop itself around Aquios... Mackwell fell on his knees as he stared at the broken Cat on the floor. The Glass cat was shattered... broken into pieces. He could only stare at the small cat on the floor. She was gone... His night was ruined... just like this Cat. It shattered... Shattered just like broken glass.

_

* * *

_

_Sorry for the long wait everybody. You guys will have to wait maybe 2 or 3 days till the next one. I have SAT prep classes to attend._

_So Hang tight ne? Sorry for leaving a Cliff Hanger! _


	5. Dinner Plans

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

_Chapter V: Dinner Plans  
_

Author's Note: Wow I'm already up to Chapter V. Thanks you guys! It's great motivation to write when everyone wants to read more. I was surprised that before this one I haven't seen any Mackwell and Misty Lear fics. Ah, well now that People read my fic I hope it motivates some of you as well. XD I'm still deciding when to end this fic… maybe the next chapter will be the last.

* * *

_Act I: Daddy and I_

Aqua was worried… this was the first time she ever felt this way. Her father, Evia, was now paler and more timid than usual. This was probably the first time Aqua ever worried about her father… Usually it was the other way around. Evia ate very little during the meals, he also worked very little and he spent most of his time cooped up in his room at home. Sometimes Aqua would hear him crying till he fell asleep from exhaustion. It's been almost 4 days… He was thin, he was pale, he was always crying. Aqua was pretty lonely nowadays. His father hasn't been making any money recently, and his ranking in the Inventor's guild was faltering as well. Sooner or later Aqua began to get into depression as well…

Hey, 5 days of watching your father being depressed and starving himself while drowning in tears will do that to you. Aqua not only felt lonely... but it began to hurt. Guilt does that to you, I suppose.

"Is it my fault?" Aqua asked, "Is this all my fault?"

Aqua was on her small bed in her room. She was surrounded by toys and gifts that her father showered her with. She held her arms over her legs and in her hand was a small baby tiger doll that her father made. She liked to dress up the tiger as a princess and its name was Muna. She began to cry… to herself. The tears flowing down her cheeks. Her silent sobs could barely be heard but sure enough, Little Aqua was crying her eyes out.

Evia quietly got out of his room. It was time for Aqua's dinner… he didn't want his only daughter to starve. She was still his most precious treasure in the world. But what he saw that day… it tore him apart. _His Aqua, His little Princess was with a boy! She's too young_! Evia wanted her all to himself, she was his daughter. He loved it when he made her laugh; he enjoyed spending time with her and giving her anything in the world. He wanted her to feel like a princess, he wanted her to feel loved, feel special. He didn't want to lose her like he did with his wife… Evia was about to enter Aqua's room with a tray of food but he paused. He could hear her quiet sobs and whispers… He listened.

"It's my fault isn't it?" Aqua hugged the doll, "Just like with Mommy… was that my fault too? Is it my fault she's gone and daddy's all alone?"

The doll of course didn't answer. It was made of soft polyester and velvet. It had a small crown on its fuzzy head and a smile. It was orange with small black stripes and patches.

"My Daddy hates me…" Aqua cried, "But…I want my daddy! I miss my Daddy! I don't want to see him cry!"

Evia froze… she was blaming herself. Evia couldn't help but have tears stream down his eyes. His princess, his special daughter was crying… Evia never heard her cry like this before… She was always so rebellious, independent and defiant. Just like how her mother was before her.

"Like… when Daddy lost his job…" Aqua whispered to her doll, "Muna, Daddy lost his job for me, remember? … Am I a bad girl?"

The Doll once again didn't reply.

"Aqua…" Evia whispered to himself as he sunk down. His back to the wall, the door to his daughter's room was right beside him. Evia is making his poor daughter cry just because he was overprotective. Because he was selfish and didn't want to share his intelligent, precious daughter, but now here she was… crying. The tray of food in Evia's hands was trembling slightly.

Suddenly, the Small Inventor's Compact Communicator began to Ring. The loud familiar beeping echoed in the house. Aqua quickly got up and crawled out of bed. Her daddy's communicator was going off… She hurriedly walked out of the room. She didn't notice her father was there. He was pale, his hair hung loosely around his thin face. He watched as his daughter quickly removed her tears and answered the Signal.

"Hello?" Aqua picked up the communicator.

"Aqua?" The voice was that of a girl's.

"Oh, Hi Welch." Aqua gave a small smile as she saw the Host of the Inventor's guild.

"How are you doing, Aqua? Where's your father today?" Welch asked.

"My papa?" Aqua asked.

"Yes, I'm here to report that the Peterny Workshop is as good as new with repair and you and your father are set to go back to work." Welch announced.

"Umm… Papa is sick right now." Aqua lied quickly, "He has a fever."

"Aww… that's too bad." Welch shook her head, "Tell him I said, to feel better, ok?"

"Ok." Aqua replied.

"His Inventor's ranking is falling behind greatly… you should warn him."

"I will." Aqua replied once again.

"Well, if you're bored and your father says its okay, then you can come down to the Inventor's guild." Welch suggested, "We got some new candy."

"Umm…" Aqua began to think.

Evia watched his daughter. She seemed almost grown up. He knew that his daughter loved to play with Welch and the Old Guild master all the time. They were nice to her and gave her free candies and chocolates. _Would she really go to them today_?

"I think I'll pass…" Aqua replied, Evia was surprised by his daughter's answer. "I don't want to leave my sick Daddy."

"Ah, Ok then." Welch smiled, "I hope your daddy feels better and we'll wait for him to come back to work."

Evia slowly got up. There was no point in being depressed. If he was depressed his daughter would be too. He gently placed the tray of food on the table and walked over to his daughter. Evia put his hand on Aqua's shoulder. Aqua looked up and smiled at her father. Evia picked up the compact communicator and put a small smile on his face. Before Welch could end her call Evia picked up.

"Don't wait too long." Evia replied. Welch almost jumped in surprise, "I'll be back to work, first thing tomorrow."

"Mr. Evia, Sir!" Welch almost jumped. "Are you feeling better?"

Evia gave his daughter a hug and smiled, "Yes, I feel great, never better."

"Well, I hope to see you bright and happy tomorrow!" Welch replied, "Have a good night."

"Good night." They both replied. The Screen on the small Communicator turned off. The house was once again silent. Aqua took her Dad's hand.

"Daddy, your not mad are you?" Aqua asked.

"Of course not…" Evia crouched down and hugged his daughter, "I could never be mad at you, my most precious Aqua."

"Ok…" Aqua hugged her Dad back, "By the way, Papa."

"Hmm?" Evia asked.

"Mind feeding me now? I'm kind of hungry."

Aqua asked. Both Evia and Aqua's stomach growled.

"Of course…" Evia smiled as he put on an apron and got to work on dinner. Evia happily watched and helped around in the kitchen. Evia began to cook Aqua's favorite meal, Some Sweet Curry, Biscuits and Pasta, and finally, Sweet Potatoes for Dessert. Aqua quickly set the table as Evia let the food cool they were almost ready for a nice relaxing dinner.

_Ring Ring Ring_

Evia looked up, "Visitors? At this hour?"

"Who is it Daddy?" Aqua asked.

"I have no idea…" Evia walked up to the door and quickly unlatched the locks. Both Evia and Aqua were quite surprised who it was. Standing outside of their door at 8:00 at night was a small boy. He had glasses, light colored hair and in his hands were a basket of flowers. The boy was Mishell from the Inventor's guild.

"Good evening…" Mishell bowed. "Err… I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Evia…"

"Oh, it's you…" Evia looked down at the short boy.

"I'm sorry to come unannounced…" Mishell replied, "I just wanted to give you these flowers… to tell you I'm sorry…" He nervously scratched his eyes under his thick glasses.

"Mishell, what are you doing here?" Aqua asked.

"Oh, just to say sorry to your dad…" Mishell handed the basket of flowers over. "It really wasn't what it looked like, sir… She wanted my apple so I err…"

"I see…" Evia nodded, "Well thank you for the gifts…"

"Daddy, Mishell isn't bad! I was hungry so I ate his apple, that's all." Aqua grabbed her father's hand and began to swing it back and forth.

"I understand." Evia replied. "I'm sorry for overreacting you two."

"Well then, I should go on my way." Mishell bowed, "Good night."

Mishell turned around as he began to walk away. Evia looked down at the flower basket in his hand and began to think…

"Hey wait!" Evia called. Mishell quickly turned around.

"Yes?" Mishell asked.

"How about you have dinner with us?" Evia asked, "If you haven't eaten Supper that is…"

"Really?" Mishell asked. His face brightened and for the first time in a while he felt like being a kid.

"Yeah…" Evia smiled, "We have plenty of dinner to go around."

"He can really eat with us, Daddy?" Aqua asked, surprised at the answer of her father.

"Of course, that is… unless Mishell has any objections?" Evia smiled.

"Of course not! I mean… I'd be happy to join you for dinner!" Mishell replied.

"Well then," Evia walked in holding hands with the two children, "Let's get to eating then…"

"Daddy, are you feeling alright?" Aqua asked as they sat themselves around the small table.

"Of course, honey." Evia smiled, "I'm always happy when I'm with you."

For the first time in a long time Aqua actually smiled at her father's somewhat overly loved talk. Mishell who watched them smiled as well... it was nice to see such a strong relationship between father and daughter. He reached over for some Pasta.

"Dibs on the Noodles!" Mishell laughed as he swiped the pasta before Aqua could get her fork in some.

"Hey, that's mine!" Aqua complained.

"I don't see your name on it!" Mishell replied eating the pasta.

"Fine then." Aqua stuck her tongue out at Mishell, "I get all the biscuits and curry. Nyah!"

"That's not fair!" Mishell snapped.

"Now, now, children." Evia tried to calm the two children down, "Let's share like good boys and girls."

The two children stared at each other... then they both looked up at Evia. A small mischievous smile appeared on their faces.

"You like Biscuits, daddy?" Aqua asked.

"Do you like Pasta, Mr. Evia?" Mishell asked.

"Why of course." Evia replied.

"Then let's EAT!" They both tossed food at each other then at Evia not long after. Food was tossed back and forth through the room and laughter could be heard. Evia learned that his daughter really does love him... and Aqua learned that his father loved her as well. And Mishell... well let's just say dinner is much more fun with friends. _(Psychodog cries... No... Not the Food... Spare the food! so hungry...)_

_Act II: Mackwell's Feelings_

_Even when you deny it, the truth still hides somewhere in the heart... deep down inside. _

The Night sky was dark. The Air was cold and heavy. Mackwell ran through the streets of Aquios... the Dark Streets looked somewhat eerie at night. The only light were the dim glows from the residents of Aquios and some lamp posts outside. Mackwell breathed deep, he was running through the main street at night. Not only was it very dangerous... but he could catch a cold in such a weather. These didn't matter to him. He needed to find someone, fast. Misty Lear was gone... Mackwell didn't understand. He didn't understand why he was running through the streets in such a frantic state in the first place. He couldn't understand why the fact that Misty Lear being missing was making him so upset... he never felt this way before. Something about that last letter infuriated him.

_You will Never see her..._

_This Beauty will never again see the light of day _

_She will remain with us..._

_My apologies for being the bearers of bad news_

_We won't allow it... Never..._

_You are ours... and ours alone. _

Mackwell wasn't stupid. He knew who wrote that note... It was one of those rabid suitors. They were raving with jealousy ever since Janice Janine spread the news, _ever_ _since _they saw her enter and leave his house so freely, and _ever since _he made Misty Lear and Eliza lunch. His biggest guess was that it was Janice Jeanine...She was wealthy, one of the last noblewomen. Her grandfather was extremely wealthy... He lived in Peterny and traveled the country for a while. Mackwell met this elderly man a few years ago... Janice Janine was probably the ring-leader of this kidnapping operation. Well, Mackwell was not only disturbed rather, he was angry. Never before was he this upset... Mackwell was always so calm and collected. _This was the last time... they went too far_.

He knew where Janice Janine lived. She lived on the other side of Aquios. Mackwell already went there to find the place empty. The House maid told him that she was in the Palace. So here he is now, Mackwell was out of breath. The Aquios palace looming above him. Mackwell pulled his askew cloak over his shoulders as he silently walked his way up to the palace. Surprisingly, the palace wasn't empty... He immediately walked his way towards the library. Once again, he came to Miss Leila, the Librarian.

"Good evening, Mackwell sir... how can I help you?" Leila asked.

"I was wondering... Miss Leila, have you seen Miss Janice Janine?" Mackwell asked.

"Janice Janine...? You mean the noble lady Janine?" Leila began to think hard, "I do believe she _was _here..."

"How long ago?" Mackwell jumped, "Where? And when?"

"Well... she dropped by a few hours ago... I'm not sure if she's still here..." Leila replied, slightly startled.

"A few hours ago..." Mackwell once again was deep in thought... _He dropped by the Workshop Earlier... but Eliza already informed him that she left at 7:00 Sharp... It was 8:30 now..._ Mackwell closed his eyes.

"I see...Thank you for your assistance, Miss Leila..." Mackwell replied dully. He was about to make his way out of the room. Leila watched, concerned with the grief stricken Mackwell. She nervously pushed up her small glasses between her eyes.

"Umm... I..." Leila began, "Mister Mackwell...sir... I'm not quite sure... If this would be of any use to you but... She was here, I mean Miss Janine was here... with a group of other girls."

Mackwell nodded, "Thank you very much, Miss Leila."

Mackwell didn't know what to do. He leaned by the Library door. His arms crossed and his eyes closed. He couldn't concentrate, everything was a blur, everything was moving too fast! Well he knew one thing, those girls are deffinitely behind all of this. But to track them down would be impossible... they could be anywhere on this Continent by now! He rested his head in his arms, a headache was returning... his breath was once again heavy. Running around all night in such a hurry was probably bad for him. He was never the strongest man... beyond anything he preffered his mind over might.

"You don't look so good, hon'." A voice appeared.

"It's because I've been looking for you." Mackwell replied. His head was still in his arms, he didn't have to see to know who he was talking to. The Woman's voice was too familiar to forget. Standing above him was Miss Janice Janine.

"Really? Mind if I sit next to you?" Janice asked. "You're not going to scare me off with another explosion are you?"

"No." Mackwell replied. His voice was becoming raspy, his chest was plagued by sharp pains.

"So why do you look so gloomy, Mackwell honey?" Janice asked.

"I'm not quite sure..." Mackwell responded. His voice was becoming more strained.

"You're probably wondering where that girl is..." Janice whispered,

"... Yeah probably..." Mackwell spoke with a dull tone.

"Just to let you know, hon' I have no idea where she is either..." Janice replied. She pushed the long hair back. "Scary isn't it?"

"You weren't involved in her kidnapping?" Mackwell asked.

"Nope," Janice looked concerned at Mackwell. Her brown amber hair was no longer in any wild curls and her face was no longer covered in Make-up. She wore simple clothes too. She looked exactly the same as when they first met. Mackwell didn't know why she changed back then... "Look, I wouldn't do that. I would never want you to be unhappy..." She looked down at her hands, "If Mackwell is happy, I'm happy too. If I made Mackwell honey unhappy then... well you know."

"Is that so...?" Mackwell's face was still hidden in his arms. His pale face was slowly reddening, the illness was slowly returning. It was stress... too much stress at once was bad.

"They wanted me to help in their schemes but..." Janice put her arms over Mackwell's shoulders. "I don't want to see my poor, Mackwell all sad and hurt."

"I'm not a child, Janice Janine." Mackwell pulled away quickly. His face was flushed and red. Janice smiled softly as she saw his sickened red face.

She looked down. "I have a question... Mackwell." Janice Janine whispered. "Do you mind answering it?"

"What is it?" Mackwell asked.

"Do you promise to answer the question?" Janice asked.

"What is it?" Mackwell repeated his first question.

"Do you... well... Do you love that woman? That Miss Lear?" Janice asked.

"W-why do you ask something like that?" Mackwell asked. Janice bore such a serious and shy expression. It was very unlike her...

"I understand if you do," Janice smiled, "I mean, she's lovely, polite and very attractive... you two looked so perfect."

"..." Mackwell stared. She was silently crying... Her small tears streamed from her crystal-like eyes.

"How silly," Janice brushed her tears away, "Look at me crying, and I'm suppose to be a lady? When I saw you two... it was so perfect, I couldn't help but feel so envious."

"I really want to know." Janice replied. "So, Mackwell... I'll repeat my question. Do you love her? Do you love that Miss Lear?"

"Well..." Mackwell stared in the pleading eyes of Janice, He paused. "Yes... I believe I do... I just don't... understand yet."

"Well, thank you for an honest answer." Janice placed her Hand on Mackwell's, "I'll step aside then... By the way... Good luck and take care of yourself, alright?"

"Thank you..." Mackwell replied. He was mildly surprised at her new change in attitude.

"Hey Mackwell... I don't know much but... I think I know a way I can help." Janice replied.

"How so?" Mackwell asked.

"Hmm... well... let's just say you have to tune in on some recent news." Janice answered. "It's a bad clue but you'll find her eventually."

"Well, it's not much." Mackwell slowly got up. "But it's something, thank you... Miss Janice."

"Anything, for you hon'." She waved as she walked down the hall. "By the way, you should always look up on the brighter side of these things! Jealousy is the evil in women, remember that!"

Mackwell watched as what was one of his most Rabid and greatest admirers disappear around the Corner. Mackwell's hand was placed over his chest, the pain was slowly relieving... He could feel his heartbeat. The Clock in the Library struck 9:00... It was late. Mackwell stood up, he brushed his silver hair back. Coversing with Janice was new... But it gave him confidence... Mackwell's pain slowly eased. His head was still overflowing with thoughts but he can still think somewhat clearly. It seemed... getting Misty Lear back and fixing up his dinner plans was going to be harder than he thought. It was time to think clearly... no one messes with Mackwell's dinner plan and gets away with it!

_Act III Part 1: Dark and Lonely Places_

Misty Lear slowly stirred awake. She could smell the heavy scent of smoke... It was dark, it was cold and it was lonely. Her hands were bounded behind her with what looked like a thick rope. They cut into her wrists and were heavily knotted... It was impossible for her to release herself. Her mouth was covered and she could see nothing. Wherever she was, it was dark and secluded. She would panic and worry... but that wouldn't get her anywhere at all. So there she was, calmly sitting in what looked like a confined space. There was a small barred window and beyond it she could see the dark night sky. She must be in some kind of wagon... The Forest was moving past her.

She could see the dark trees all around. In the Night sky she could hear the howling of wolves. A lonely howl. The wolf was probably seperated from its pack, its family and friends. Misty Lear couldn't help but feel the same way. She was alone as well. The floor was clean enough... but some musty smell was lingering in this place. She couldn't really tell what it was... it smelled bitter. She remembered well what happened... and how she happened to be here. Though, she really didn't know where "here" is.

She was working in the Aquios workshop. For most of the day she spent her time helping Eliza with another project. Carefully keeping an eye out on the clock. Misty Lear couldn't wait for it to be 7:00... To display her grattitude she attempted to do some crafting. After many hours of hard work she created a glass cat... Sadly, when she left... she was ambushed. Everything was a blur, all she knew was that she smelled an expensive and very strong perfume before she blacked out. Expensive perfume... somehow, she knew that didn't bode well at all. Now here she is... she doesn't even know where. Let alone, where her glass cat was.

_It was those women... _Misty Lear thought,_ How troubling..._

From outside she could hear a loud clatter as the wagon stopped in a halt. She peered out of the window... She could just see the trees that surrounded the area. There weren't many but it was chilly... Cliffs surrounding all over. She must be near _Airyglyph_... That would explain the abnormally cold temperature as well as the Mountains... Whoever was driving the wagon was walking over. She quickly sat back and inched toward the opposite wall. A great deal of distance between herself and the door.

"Did you hear something?" A Deep voice asked.

"Hear what?" Another asked.

"I heard something moving... maybe the cargo is awake." The voice was that of a man.

"It doesn't matter... what can she do? Scream? HAH!" The second voice replied.

"Did you see that broad's face? She's a real looker! The only one for tonight's shipping!"

"Heh, she may be the only one for tonight's shipping but we picked up plenty this morning..." The second man gruffed.

"Atleast we get paid for this shit job." The Second man spat.

_Who were these men?_ Misty Lear thought. She couldn't help but feel afraid... The Man peered into the window of the Wagon. He was a big man, he sure didn't look very clean. His eyes gleamed in glee and hunger as he eyed Misty Lear. Misty Lear desperately hid her fear as she stared defiantly at her current kidnappers... _The Last thing she wanted to do was show that she was afraid_...

"Well, well." The Man replied with a greedy smile, "Looks like the sleepin' beauty is awake and kickin'!"

"Sal, will you hurry the hell up? We gotta get the girl to the _place_, right now!"

"Alright ya, Bastard! I'm coming!" The Man yelled. He then grabbed the bars and peered through. "You be a good wench and just _maybe_ we won't hurt ya too badly." He blew what seemed to be a kiss. Misty lear gave a disgusted expression. Obviously the man didn't notice. It was too dark and her mouth was covered. He banged on the Bars and the Wagon made a sharp bump.

"Boo! HAhaha!" The Man laughed.

_What have I gotten into?_ Misty Lear sighed to herself. She couldn't help but feel bad... She probably kept Mackwell waiting for a long time... She found a clean spot on the floor and rested her head. She was coming down with a headache from all the moving and rocking of the wagon. _I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Mackwell..._ She could only guess what was going to happen to her. And all of her options seemed terrible... all far worse than the last. She wished it was just a nightmare...

_Act III Part 2: Time is of the Essence_

_What did Janice Janine tell him?_ Mackwell was once again in the Library. His arm clutching the book that once belonged to Professor Elena. In it was also his schedule... _Janice Janine... she told him to tune in on Recent news_. Other than the fact that his jealous admirers has done this terrible deed this was the only clue he had. He walked over to the Library and requested that Leila would gather all the information she had on recent news. Leila ran around the Library hunting for articles and Newpaper clippings. There were alot... Mackwell skimmed through the articles. _Janice Janine's clue was very vague... but it matters not_.

**Everlasting peace was created between Two Countries...**

"No, that's not it..." Mackwell tossed that article aside.

**Greeton's Latest Technology update!**

"no, not that either..." He put that article aways as well.

**Noble woman has finally given birth to TRIPLETS!**

_"What the heck does that have to do with anything?" _Mackwell tossed that one aside as well.

**The Reopening of the Bequerel Mines...**

"Irrelevant." Mackwell placed it on the ever-growing useless information pile.

**New Pirate Paves the Way to Mischief and Fortune!  
**

"Slightly amusing but not that important either..." Mackwell added more to the growing pile.

**Current Weather Update**

"I have no need to know the weather at the moment..." Mackwell sighed. Nothing was interesting...

"Mr. Mackwell..." Leila appeared, "We have no more articles available, sir."

"Are you sure?" Mackwell asked.

"Well... the Peterny Newspaper only started a few weeks ago..." Leila replied nervously, "It's a new test project..."

"Are you sure there are _no_ new articles?" Mackwell asked. "I desperately need it..."

"Well..." Leila walked over to her desk, "We do have this morning's newspaper..." She handed over the sheets of paper. "Though, I'm not quite sure if you want that _recent _a date..."

"Let me have it, please." Mackwell asked. Leila handed him the paper. He skimmed through the pages and paused... His eyes widened. He found it... On the third page of the _Peterny Newsletter_ was a very interesting... yet terrible information. He shook his head... _no this can't be it... but... It's the only thing he could think of_...

"Where did you get this?" Mackwell asked Leila.

"Well, I found it on my desk earlier today..." Leila replied, "Someone might've left it. I thought it was interesting and read the papers."

"This is it!" Mackwell took the articles and placed it in his book. "May I borrow this?"

"Yes... of course." Leila replied nervously.

"It's a clue... Miss Janice must have left it..." Mackwell walked out of the door and made his way down the halls of Aquios Palace. He was absorbed in the information that was printed on the sheets of paper. But... the more he read the article the more serious it became. And the more serious it became, the more concerned he was._ If this was what miss Janine was talking about... then Miss Lear was in big trouble... _

**30 Young Girls Kidnapped and Disappeared **

Recently many disappearances of young women have been reported throughout the Country.

So far 6 women have disappeared throughout the trading town of Peterny, 4 from Waterfront City, Arias, 7 from the Mining town of Kirlsa, 3 from Sacred City of Aquios as well as 10 women from Airyglyph.

"This was no ordinary disappearance case," Crimson Blade Agent Nel states, "They were all reported missing at the same time the night before... It is highly likely that someone is rounding up young woman for who knows what."

"Keep all security locked tightly and keep the women at home," King Arzei of Airyglyph warned, "We the Military of Aquaria and Airyglyph will handle this case and discover who is behind such a misdeed."

If Such Disappearances continue then the military will have no choice but to take action...

"Young women... rounded up..." Mackwell muttered. "All disappeared at night for unknown reasons."

Mackwell was putting two and two together... _The rabid admirers had to try and get rid of Miss Lear_... _Plus, Miss Janine's Clue_... _The operation is being conducted at night... Miss Lear disappeared that evening_. _This was bad... If she was kidnapped like these reported women... then..._

"I'm running out of time." Mackwell groaned.

"Ok..." Mackwell sighed, "This is a good first step," He got up and made his way out of Aquios Palace.

Mackwell knew what happened. The only thing he doesn't know is where she is...

"I need help." Mackwell stared down at the article in his hand. Next to the text was a small photo of a young Aquarian Warrior. She had Short Crimson hair and Violet eyes. In her hands were a pair of daggers. He gave a small smile, The Crimson Blade, Nel Zelpher of Aquaria. Ever since her return she was busy keeping order in the kingdom. Believe me... she's been doing a darn good job at it too. Mackwell crumpled the article and put it in his robe pocket. "And I know just _where_ to get some."

* * *

Ok, first off... **_I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG!_** I've been crazy busy lately. My deepest apologies also, this chapter wasn't that great... hopefully it added some suspense to the story. XD Anyway, hopefully I'll do well on my exams tomorrow and I'll be free to type some more fics for everyone. Stay in touch! Thanks!

and...

**GOMENESAI! **


	6. The Gathering

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

**_Chapter VI: The Gathering_**

_"Upon the pathway to sucess one will face many hardships..._

_Though Hardwork and dilligence is said to prevail,_

_There are dark alleys lurking in this path ahead. _

_One must often work with the aid of others._

_Accept the hand that is offered to you._

_Together, one will find that sucess is not hard to achieve._

_And Together, one can find that challenges are now a thing of the past."_

-An Excerpt from the **Inventor's Handbook Volume 2**

**_Disclaimer: I do Not Own Star Ocean, this also concludes the fact that I do not own Mackwell as well..._**

* * *

_Act I: The Journey of the Perverted Troll_

**_A poem created by yours truly. XD_**

**_  
_**

_There once was an elderly man named Gossam,_

_He was a man of many winters... scratch that, he was just plain wrinkled and old_

_ Anyway, This man had a dream, A yearning for a young woman's bossom and bottom_

_For an elderly man such as he, this was a dream much bold._

_He lacked Wisdom, Knowledge and Experience, all three_

_ Thus he was a mockery to elders, everyone can clearly see._

_What he made up for these fine bundles of quality,_

_This old man had too much experience for his age of lechery..._

_With a dirty smile, wrinkled old skin and small patches of grey hair,_

_This man was hated more than the father of Claire._

**_O Gossam, O Gossam when will you learn?_**

**_Your idiotic crave for women will just leave you burned. _**

**_Gossam, O Gossam when can you see?_**

**_We, women don't want you or your foolish stupidity! _**

_Traveling from place to place,_

_Thus this is Gossam and his poor, poor case._

_Gifted to be born in a world with women galore,_

_A shame, Gossam was an old man no one can adore. _

_For many years, an Ultimate goal in his mind he had,_

_Too bad people still think he's crazy, foolish or just plain mad._

_ His goal, to make potions of Love, Beauty and Youth_

_Too bad, it worked on neither Miss Sarah, Young Beth or Lady Ruth_

_They could only tell this man the cold, harsh truth,_

_"You're disgusting! Now get away from me you old Coot!" _

_ With a Wave of a hand, broom and a purse... Gossam was out in the dust with a swift kick of a boot._

_So much to yearn..._

_Too little he can earn..._

**_O Gossam, O Gossam when will you learn? _**

**_Your idiotic crave for women will just leave you burned. _**

**_Gossam, O Gossam when can you see?_**

**_We, women don't want you or your foolish stupidity! _**

_Gossam traveled the world abound,_

_Tirelessly chasing fine, young women around._

_Sadly, all women ran away in fright just by the mere sound._

_After many days of traveling, on the road of his journey..._

_With a stroke of luck he appeared before the Trading town of Peterny._

_With Oppurtunities scattered on every corner_

_A new town with its share of fine young women on every inch and border._

_Upon a small alley, with shops surround_

_The Guild of Inventors is what he found. _

_They offered a job to keep him from starving from food and hunger  
_

_Also to keep his dirty hands away from Miss Welch's plunder._

_So here he is now, Sir Gossam the dirty old man_

_Just the mere sound of his voice, the women all ran, _

_No one really knows what dirty thoughts flows in this man's mind_

_A feat and desire, we don't ever want to discover and find._

**_O Gossam, O Gossam when will you learn? _**

**_Your idiotic crave for women will just leave you burned. _**

**_Gossam, O Gossam when can you see?_**

**_We, women don't want you or your foolish stupidity! _**

_Kicked out and transfered from workshop to workshop,_

_ A Bad Habit in which everyone wished he could drop.  
_

_One in which, Hitting on Miss Stanice was a big mistake, _

_Smashing him with a hammer was an easy task for shy Lias to take._

_Beaten, Broken and Blown to smithereens,_

_To keep him away from women in any necessary means._

_As you can see, this one man paid the toll,_

_Ultimately, he never learned he was nothing but a perverted old troll. _

_And this was the price, this one man had to pay..._

_I guess he'll just have to try another day. _

_Whether he accomplished his dreams is a big mystery..._

_But one things for sure, this dirty old man went down in Elicoor History. _

_**-Fin-**_

_

* * *

_

_Act II: Enter Nel Zelpher, Crimson Blade Extroadinaire_

Mackwell Silently trudged his way across the vast field of Palmira plains. The Warm summer wind blew past him. On his right side was Crimson Blade, Nel Zelpher. The two were making their way towards Arias to gather more information from Nel's best friend Claire Lasbard. Mackwell rarely left the Sacred City of Aquios unless he was required to transfer Workshops, even then it was rare. He was always working in either the workshop in Peterny or Aquios. Not only was it closer to home, but he disliked traveling too far away from the library, and his pet cats. Speaking of which, he left his cats in the care of Miss Leila. She volunteered for the job, even when Mackwell offered to pay for her services she declined. So here he was now, traveling to the Water front City of Arias accompanied by Nel Zelpher of Aquaria.

They were both surprised. Nel was surprised that Mackwell even spoken to her. She always saw him as the reserved, quiet type. For a long time she believed he was just a self-absorbed, independent man who was always on the rush... yet here he was, walking her to Arias. Nel found him to be a bag of surprises, not only was his intelligence and information a great deal of help on her investigation, He was alot more polite then she thought. What stunned her the most was when he revealed that he was searching for Misty Lear. His story was quite shocking and in Nel's point of view quite intriguing. An added bonus to her surprise was Mackwell's performance in battle. Surprisingly, this alchemist could hold his ground in battle.

Mackwell refuses to fight hand-to-hand combat. It was, to him, considered barbaric yet he was well equipped with an arsenal of tools. He was a brilliant tactician who calculated each battle and situation with great percision. Often times he helped Nel take down enemies quicker and more easily by his knowledge of the enemies and the exact moments to strike. Strangely enough, Nel was supposed to be the battle genius in the group... therefore, Mackwell proved to be no burden. He also possessed some Runology skills. While in Peterny he purchased and created numerous things that would accompany him. In his bag he had medical equipment (he proved to be quite the doctor), Corrosive chemicals, Explosive chemicals, Acidic chemicals, Poisonous Chemicals, Stun Chemicals, Homunculi of various elements and also the biggest necessity, food. Mackwell sure was prepared for _anything_.

Mackwell was surprised by Nel Zelpher as well. Seeing as that he had minimal contact with women he found the Crimson blade's company not only helpful, but enjoyable as well. She was intelligent, bright and possessed a serious demeanor. He also found that Nel was a brilliant tactician on her own as well, never before has he seen a woman fight so gracefully and powerfully before. She planned battles as well and was incredibly experienced. Nel was dilligent and hardworking just as he was. Mackwell found that her reason for this investigation was also alarming. It seemed her greatest rival, Albel Nox handed this job to her personally. He disapproved missions as this and made a bet with Nel... As of now, Mackwell had no idea what the bet was.

Anyway, let's backtrack to when Mackwell asked for Nel Zelpher's assistance.

"You said you wanted to help on my Investigation?" Nel Zelpher paused, "Whatever for?"

Mackwell stood before Nel Zelpher. They were in the Palace of Aquios, Nel was just about to inform the latest update to her majesty the Queen. After their brief conversation Mackwell just had to intervene... the matter was urgent. This may be the last chance he would be able to speak to Nel before time would run out... The Alchemist mustered all of his nerve, courage and guts. This was his chance... don't lose it now. The moment was right but... he had his doubts. Afterall, he was in the presence of her Majesty the Queen and... the loudmouth fool, Lassele. Mackwell had no problem speaking in front of the Queen. She was calm, wise and very grand... whereas Magistrate Lassele was just a fool. Well, this was no time for Mackwell to lose his cool...

"Miss Zelpher, I wish to assist you on this mission..." Mackwell replied as calmly as possible. "The reasons... are of my own."

"You want to assist me?" Nel asked.

"Is there a problem?" Mackwell asked.

"Well, this is a first." Nel crossed her arms, "What gives you the idea that I needed assistance... _Sir, Mackwell_..."

"Yes, do tell." Lassele replied coldly, "We are all interested."

"Lassele!" The Queen ushered her assistant silent.

"You dare barge into the Sacred throne room in demand for our services?" Lassele barked, "What treachery is this?"

"I never said I desired any of your service..." Mackwell sighed, "I only want to help..."

"Your reasons?" Lassele asked. "We wish to know."

"Lassele! Hold your tongue!" The Queen demanded. From her throne up high she watched Mackwell and Nel, "Well Lady Nel, what do you think of this matter? You did say that you required more assistance on this mission, it just so happens Mackwell seems to want to help."

"Why do you want to help us, Mackwell?" Nel repeated curiously.

Mackwell obviously didn't like the tone of her voice, "From the looks of it, you aren't in such a great situation yourself... so maybe I should merely lend my aid?" Mackwell walked forward before the queen and her annoying assistant, Lassele. "I think it would be beneficial for us _both_, also, I may have some information that may be of importance to you."

"I'm listening..." Nel replied.

"I promise I won't get in your way..." Mackwell replied.

"I never said you would..." Nel answered. "I'm just curious Mackwell... why do you want my help _now_?"

"I believe you are the only person who could help me." Mackwell replied. "I hear you are quite skillfull... It just so happens our paths cross."

Nel paused. She often saw this Alchemist frequently. He was the one who was always working, always too busy for everyone else. If anything... this was the first time Nel and Mackwell actually spoke to each other. It was a very strange feeling... kind of like speaking to a shadow that you know exists... yet you never really got to know them. But staring into Mackwell's cold, serious eyes... she could tell something was troubling him greatly. Nel paused for a few seconds. She knew Mackwell was intelligent... _a bit stiff but he was skilled at well... research and stuff... he may prove useful_. She wasn't 100 percent sure though... he may slow her down. _I mean... an Alchemist? What is he going to do? Read her a bedtime story on Chemistry and Quantum physics and create minerals on their journey?_ But then again... she did respect the Science...

"I think It's a splendid Idea." A voice replied.

"Professor Elena..." Nel looked up in surprise. The Runologist expert smiled as she walked towards them.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" the Queen asked curiously.

"I only dropped down to say my hello's... but my, I would have never thought I'd see _you _here Mackwell, dear."

Elena looked up at Mackwell. She had a gentle smile upon her face. Excited almost, to see her prized pupil in front of her. Mackwell blankly stared back, he severed all ties with this woman... Elena, still the carefree genius was standing before him. Mackwell clutched the book tighter in his grip. Of all the people... He really didn't want to see this woman ever again. He could still remember when he stormed out of her Lab and demanded he would quit... even though it was in the middle of a big project. The Thunder Arrow was only halfway complete yet, Mackwell couldn't take it anymore. _This woman! This woman had the nerve to fool around during a war! It was Intolerable_! _Completely Unnacceptable_! _He hated such carefree attitudes, such blissful thinking during times of terror and strife! He envied and hated it!_ Even now... he could only hate.

"Hello Elena..." Mackwell replied coldly. "Pleasant surprise meeting you here..."

"As am I, my dear!" Elena smiled. "My, you've grown!"

"Still treating me like a child...?" Mackwell was slowly losing his cool around this woman.

"Mackwell, dear." Elena shook her head, "You'll always be my star pupil..."

"Hmph, I doubt that..." Mackwell replied. a small smile appeared on his lips.

"I always looked highly on you, Mackwell... you are quite the little genius." Elena walked up to Mackwell. She ushered him quiet with a friendly pat on the back. "So where have you been lately Mackwell?"

"Around." Mackwell replied coolly.

"Nel, I think you should bring Mackwell with you." Elena replied with a chuckle, "He may act like an old man but I assure you he'll be no burden."

"I'm sure he won't..." Nel replied with a smile. "Are you sure you wish to come, Sir Mackwell?"

"It's just 'Mackwell'..." Mackwell replied. "There is no 'Sir' in my name."

"Sorry. Well then _Mackwell_, I don't mind if you wish to help." Nel continued, "If you really wish to help, then by all means..."

And Professor Elena was right, Mackwell wasn't a burden at all. Quite the opposite actually, he was very useful. He never hesitated to help Nel, when she was injured he automatically casted a quick Runology spell before she even noticed she was injured at all. Though he ranged in mainly recovery, strengthen and status inflicting spells, Mackwell used them wisely. In return, Nel quickly dispatched her enemies and fought her way through anyone who got in her way. It was pretty obvious that both of them had a strong motivation to accomplish this mission. Mackwell had his obligations to return Misty Lear safely, and Nel had the sole determination to prove to Albel Nox that she was no mere 'maggot', 'fool', 'worm' or any other vile creature he looked down on.

Nel found that it was sweet of Mackwell to help Misty Lear. His story intrigued her much, as did the small competition between Albel and Nel intrigue Mackwell.

"Mackwell, behind you!" Nel warned.

A Massive Horned Turtle was charging at Mackwell from behind. The alchemist quickly dodged it aside and drew out an explosive chemical and blasted the massive brute into submission. Mackwell quickly brushed the dust and ash off his cloak and moved forward.

"Your mind seems to be elsewhere." Nel asked with slight concern.

"It seems that way." Mackwell replied.

"Arias should be just around the corner." Nel looked around the currenly, empty Palmira plains. "We can gather information, equipment and rest there."

"Information?" Mackwell asked.

"Claire's been on the look out recently, she might hold some useful information." Nel answered.

"We should go to Airglyph after..." Mackwell muttered, "It's a high probability that our culprit hides there."

"What makes you so certain?" Nel asked.

"According to the data in the article, a higher percentage of the women captured originated in that region." Mackwell replied.

"That may be true... but still, we can't be so certain." Nel took down another Horned Turtle with ease, "Maybe it was a false lead."

"I doubt it..." Mackwell walked onward. "10 from Airyglyph, 7 from Kirlsa... It's highly unlikely they would ignore the women closer to their location... Also..."

"Also?" Nel crossed her arms with a small smile on her face, "Is there more you wish to share, Oh wise Mackwell?"

"Yes, actually." Mackwell bore a serious expression. "I doubt my suitors would hide Miss Lear somewhere close by..."

"Oh?" Nel quickly jabbed another enemy that stood in her way.

"They know I don't like to travel." Mackwell quickly tossed a small vial of Acid at a scorpion, "Pretty obvious they would hide her as far away as possible."

Nel gave a small chuckle, "Of course, I would never doubt your logic."

Mackwell gave a small smile, "Oh? but I thought you just did, Miss Zelpher."

_Act III: Trouble in Arias_

_Adray the... Manly... Father-in-Law... _

The Waterfront City of Arias. A city of much tragedy. Compared to Aquios and Peterny, Arias was in poor condition due to war. Luckily Claire has put alot of effort on rebuilding the once prosperous City back to its former glory. The Reconstruction project was slow... but it was getting better. Mackwell walked through the Small Town. In his eyes Arias was Grey and quite dull. He followed Nel to a large manor in the Center of the Town, the manor was quite large. A small meeting was underway as this woman named 'Claire', informed them on the current situation. It seemed that recently a mysterious Wagon passes by Arias three times a day. It is claimed that it was a type of Alcohol Delivery service.

"Did you check the cargo?" Nel asked.

"Yes, we operate a thorough search on all transportation vehicles..." Claire replied.

"Was there anything suspicious?" Nel asked.

"There was quite a number of large barrels. We're guessing it was filled with beer..." Claire answered.

"Or women..." Mackwell interrupted from the other end of the table. "It can be assumed that women are able to fit in them as well...?"

"That is a possibility, yes..." Claire replied.

Claire Lasbard was the head of the Activity in the Waterfront City of Arias. She had flowing silver hair and was quite a beauty. Claire was also very dilligent and intelligent... Mackwell found her and the rest of these women to be quite impressive. The only strange thing was Claire's father... The man keeps eyeing him carefully. The huge Muscular Aquarian was a legendary warrior, Mackwell knew this well... the only thing is... He keeps following Mackwell wherever he goes. I mean... Mackwell was use to women stalking him but _now men were too_? The thought kind of scared him... Luckily he wasn't invited to the meeting, Claire made sure of this personally.

"Hmm..." Mackwell ran his hand over his long earring as his mind began to furiously work.

"Nel, who is this man?" Claire asked.

"Oh, this is Mackwell..." Nel introduced the Alchemist, "He's an Inventor and also an Alchemist..."

"Mackwell?" Claire looked up, "You mean that student of Professor Elena?"

"The one and only." Nel said with a small grin. "He proved to be... well beneficial to this investigation."

"I see..." Claire slowly shook her head, "According to the information, The Cargo shipment would be arriving at noon today. Should we take action then?"

"I'll see to it." Mackwell quickly gathered his books and got up.

"By yourself?" Nel asked.

"It would be less suspicious with not as many people." Mackwell replied. "Besides, I want to see this with my own eyes."

"Isn't it too dangerous?" Nel asked.

"Yes, maybe you would atleast want to bring one of us with you?" Claire suggested.

"I'll be fine." Mackwell quickly left for the door. The moment he turned the knob a large man fell ontop of him. It was Adray! The Father of Claire lost his balance and fell ontop of Mackwell. Mackwell toppled on the floor and Adray jumped on his prey. There was much struggling. The Tall, muscular and dark skinned Adray was also the proud father of Claire. Everything about this man... was strangely _manly_. He had _manly _muscles, a _Manly _smile, _Manly _strength and yeah... well you get the point. The Big dude is _Manly _and now with his **100 percent Manliness** was Wrestling the Alchemist in the middle of the floor... _manly-like_. Nel and Claire blankly stared as the two men were wrestling on the floor.

"What the...?" Mackwell attempted to tumble out of the big man's grip. "Let me go! Release me this instant!"

"What's your name, young one?" Adray asked ignoring Mackwell's command.

"It's Mackwell! Now Let go!" Mackwell yelled.

"Hey I like ya, Mackwell. Smart, Bold and you're also good looking too! How about you and my daughter get... _you know_?" Adray asked, laughing and holding the Struggling Alchemist down.

"I don't know what your talking about!" Mackwell snapped his head was between Adray's arms in a headlock.

"Come on, You two would be perfect for each other!" Adray laughed.

"Get off of me!" Mackwell yelled.

"Father..." Claire groaned, her father was enough of a headache for one day.

"All you have to say is, '_yes I'll be happy to marry your beautiful daughter, Claire_.' Adray laughed, "Come on! It's easy!"

"No way! I have enough on my mind!" Mackwell rammed as much body force towards the big man. Adray only grunted and now had the Alchemist in his mighty (and _manly_) Bear like Arms.

"Come on! Say it... You'll feel so much better afterwards!" Adray replied with a booming voice. "I need a son-in-law and a couple o' Grandkids! I'm sure you can give me some of those, eh?"

"What are you talking about?" Mackwell couldn't move at all.

"Come on, Kid... Just say it loud and clear, '_I love you Claire and I'd be happy to bear you and your father some pups_!"

"I REFUSE!" Mackwell snapped. "That sounded so wrong! Also, I have no interest in your daughter or your grandkids! I don't even know you!"

Adray smacked his head with his left arm and held back the struggling Alchemist with the other. "Of couse, The Name's Adray! So now that you know my name, how about that proposal?"

"Dad..." Claire groaned. "Can you give it up already? Just for today?"

"Shh, quiet now, Claire." Adray replied, "Can't you see your daddy is busy at the moment? I caught a fiery one! I ain't letting it get away!"

"What am I? Some kind of fish? Release me this instant!" Mackwell snapped.

"We're busy, Father! This is an important matter! It's for my work!"

"Daddy's busy too, Honey!" Adray replied with a large smile. "Daddy's _job _is to get you a nice husband."

"I CAN GET A HUSBAND ON MY OWN!" Claire yelled. "NOW STOP IT, RIGHT NOW AND LET THE POOR MAN GO!"

"Claire!" Adray replied with (manly) tears in his eyes, "But all you care about is work, work and more work! You need a man in your life! And this one is _not only_ good looking, energetic and feisty but he's Single too! Aren't ya, lad?"

"A little help?" Mackwell asked Nel.

"Sorry, Mackwell..." Nel replied sipping a cup of tea with Tynave and Farleen. "I take care of bandits, monsters, demons, dragons, soldiers, Killer robots, Mutants and Savage beasts."

"Your point?" Mackwell asked.

"The point is Mackwell..." Nel gave a small smile, "I have no problem killing those things."

"But I am being attacked by a savage beast... also a barbarian..." Mackwell replied.

"Nope sorry..." Nel replied, "I don't kill fools or father-in-laws."

"He's not my father-in-law." Mackwell replied. "And will you get off of me, already?"

"Never! Not until you propose to my daughter, here and now!" Adray said hugging Mackwell tightly in his manly grip. Mackwell felt as if every bone in his body was slowly being crushed. Mackwell was also losing oxygen... and any feeling from the shoulders down. The world was slowly getting dizzy... and painful too.

Mackwell had only one solution left, sadly he seems to be depending on this alot lately.

"I'm..." Mackwell gasped, "Already... Engaged... to... someone else!"

"REALLY?" Adray quickly let go, "So you **AREN'T SINGLE**? Aww man..." Adray snapped his finger in disappointment, "And to think I was **this **close to getting me some nice grandkids..."

"Need... air." Mackwell began to breathe in as much oxygen. Slowly but steadily the brain fluids in his head were slowly flowing again.

"Hey wait..." Adray eyed him suspiciously, "You ain't lying are ya? Are you really engaged?"

"Yes..." Mackwell stood up, his hair was a total mess and his clothes were extremely messy. He brushed the dust off his cloak swiftly.

"Who?" Adray asked standing over Mackwell. Mackwell came face-to-face with this man's massive (and manly) chest. "You better not be lying, now..."

"Err... She's not here right now... but... Misty Lear."

"_**REALLY NOW?**_" Adray began to laugh, "Now ain't that cute! Well I wish you luck on your wedding! So when you two getting hitched? I'll so be there!"

"Umm..." Mackwell looked around nervously. He looked at Nel worriedly. She only shook her head, _Sorry Mackwell... you got yourself in this mess_. Mackwell had one last option.

"Well..." He then pointed outside the window, "**LOOK**! It's a **BACHELOR**!"

"_**WHERE**_?" Adray asked Bolting at the window. "I Don't see him!"

"Farewell!" Mackwell quickly reached into his cloak and pulled out a Smoke Screen chemical. He quickly dropped it on the floor as the smoke filled the room. Mackwell bolted out of the Manor and left in heartbeat, Nel also followed. Tynave and Farleen coughed as they waved the smoke away.

"There's no bachelor out there!" Adray looked around the room. Mackwell and Nel was gone.

"Look Dad," Claire sighed, "You scared him away."

"Don't cry, Claire." Adray pet his daughter in the head, "Daddy'll find you a nice man."

"FATHER, WILL YOU STOP IT ALREADY?" With a swift kick Claire kicked Adray out of the room.

* * *

"Nice thinking, Mackwell." Nel replied. 

"Hmph, we got lucky..." Mackwell pushed back his messy hair. "What a pain... now we're late."

"Not on time anymore?" Nel asked.

"..." Mackwell remained silent.

"So are you and Misty Lear really engaged?" Nel asked.

"No..." Mackwell replied. "But... I think I found something more frightening than Mad Suitors and Late Schedules."

"And what's that?" Nel asked.

"Father-in-Laws..." Mackwell replied with a small smile.

* * *

Author's Note:

Just one more week and then i have no more SAT classes. I can't wait!

What sucks is that I have SAT class on Halloween... what's worse? It's a Practice test so I have to stay for 4 Hours.

From 6:00 to 10:00! THAT'S SO NOT FAIR! Now I can't Go get Candy! **WHAT A CRAPPY HALLOWEEN! **

Anyway, So this story is going to be longer... (sigh) Which is a good thing... but my brain fluids want to just spurt out! (EWWW)

Oh well, you guys REALLY have to Read the Next chapter, I won't give you the WHOLE secret but I'll show you guys some interesting clues! 

Clue 1: Lias, Gusto and Stanice appear once more

Clue 2: Crossdressing!

Clue 3: No Manly FATHER-IN-LAWS!

Man... I must have said the word: **Manly **like 50 times... I like Adray though. He is one cool old man. XD

I hope you guys liked my poem in the beginning. XD It was some randomness for ya!


	7. Time to move together!

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

_Chapter VII: Time to move together!_

_Special Bonus Long Chapter! Since I haven't been updating as much recently. Sorry Guys!  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Mackwell or Misty Lear or Nel or Anyone else in that matter. (heheh... until I rule the world...) _

_

* * *

Act I: Misty Lear's Song_

(Lyrics are from Nightmare before Christmas, _Sally's Song_ the original song was sung by London after Midnight (I think?)... I love this song.)

_ I sense there's something in the wind  
That feels like tragedy's at hand_

Misty Lear gazed out at the window of her cell... She was right. Snow began to drift down slowly but at a heavy pace. The only place snow would fall in the middle of Summer is The Mountain Kingdom... of Airyglyph. It's already been a day, she waits in this frozen prison. _Who can she turn to?_ It seemed unlikely that anyone would search for her here. The frosty Airyglyph wind blew past, she could only shiver from the cold. Her cloak drawn close to her as she gazed out at the white coated City. She didn't have any energy to call for help, even if she did it would die out in the howling of the Wind. She could hear it... the cry of the spirits. They were whispering to her, telling her the terrible fate of those chained here.

_ And though I'd like to stand by him_  
_ Can't shake this feeling that I have_

Yet, even in such a dismal place.She had a small flicker of hope. This torturous place. Two others shared the same prison. This dungeon was filled with many cells, the women confined in them were completely lost of all hope consumed by their fate. Misty Lear couldn't help them, they were far from lost. The shy Alchemist placed her arms over her legs, she was alone. In such a despicable place, she kept thinking of the same person. _Mackwell_... Why was she even thinking about him in the first place? Misty Lear shook her head, try as she might the thoughts wouldn't leave her. Her mind kept remembering... remembering how much she... _loved him_? Can she even love anyone again? Her heart was broken so many times... Yet... Three days ago, Lear and Mackwell were together on that balcony. _It was then... It was at that time she knew... At that moment... she fell in love again.  
_

_ The worst is just around the bend_  
_And does he notice my feelings for him? _

Her Kidnappers... they would just laugh in greed and lust. Women were nothing but objects and mere possessions. They would constantly remind their 'precious gems' that they were clean... until tomorrow night. Trouble was coming soon... And yet in such terror and misfortune why does she still think of that One man? Just because he showed her kindness? Is that all it takes? All she knew... was that she loved him. Loved him more than she could ever love another person. She loved him more than she can love herself. But the Question still remains... _does he love her the same way?_ _  
_

_ And will he see how much he means to me? _  
_ I think it's not to be._

_ Does He know how I feel? Will he be able to love me in return? _Questions plagued her grief stricken mind. It won't be long until she will lose hope too. The Most she could do was cling onto her final hopes and thoughts.She loves him, She misses him. _Can't he see? Will he ever know?_ The Alchemist touched the cold ice that hung low on the window cell. _Will we ever see each other again?_ She already knew the answer... The Spirits in this dismal place answered her question. _No... You'll never see him again. You two can't be together; it wasn't meant to be_. Somewhere in her mind, she agreed with these spirits. _It's not to be... you aren't good enough. So Stop, Just Stop it. It will Hurt less if you Stop everything_.

_ What will become of my dear friend? _  
_ Where will his actions lead us then? _

_What will happen? What will Mackwell do?_ It was unlikely that her new love felt the same way. _Why would he go to such lengths to rescue her? _They are strangers from two different worlds. She was the one who interfered on his life not the other way around. Misty Lear could feel cold tears run down her cheeks._ But What if she did escape from here... will he take her in again? And even if her life returned to happiness with Mackwell... will he truly love her in return? Where will her life go? What new path will she follow? And where will it lead?_ So many questions, so little answers and even more less time. But if he did love her, she didn't mind following down that path. As long as they were together side-by-side._  
_

_ Although I'd like to join the crowd  
In their enthusiastic cloud_

Mackwell was popular. He attempted to isolate himself from everyone else... yet, even so people are still drawn to him. His Massive crowd of admirers... all his suitors that would go from all lengths to be with him. They fling their ever-growing love at his feet. Mackwell was strong, Or maybe he was afraid? Either way he walks the other path by himself. Misty Lear silently smiled to herself. _Those admirer's loved him so much... how can I even compare_? _People draw to him even when he doesn't want it. Or maybe he does want it but never shows it?_ She didn't know the answer. He was brilliant with talent galore. In the Workshop he would invent the most spectacular of things and everyone would praise him. She wanted to join everyone in their praise... but she was just _so _different. Two different worlds, two different people, it can't be changed.

_ Try as I may, it doesn't last_  
_And will we ever end up together? _

It was hopeless... They were too different. It will never last, it will never happen. SO JUST STOP THINKING ABOUT IT! Maybe the only things they have in common is their isolation and their passion for Alchemy... It won't happen. She wasn't the one for him.

_ No, I think not, it's never to become_  
_ For I am not the one_

Misty Lear silently stared out at the drifting snow. The Sky was grey, the city white, The jail cell black. Such a familiar feeling to Lear... she was feeling the pain of sorrow and hopelessness. Even if she screamed or cried nobody in that City would hear her. But she could only wonder... could Mackwell hear her? Can he hear her voice even though they are so far away? A Single soldier stood in guard of the cells, he wore a suit of armor and a black helmet. The only thing visible was his eyes. He never spoke, never did any unnecessary actions. All he did was stare blankly, his eyes were now fixed on Misty Lear who sat upon the window sill staring at the hopelessness. Her voice began to echo in the darkness as she quietly sang. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Hear my voice..." Misty Lear whispered, "I miss you so much."

_"I sense there's something in the wind_  
_ That feels like tragedy's at hand_  
_ And though I'd like to stand by him_  
_ Can't shake this feeling that I have_  
_ The worst is just around the bend_

_ And does he notice my feelings for him? _  
_ And will he see how much he means to me? _  
_ I think it's not to be_

_ What will become of my dear friend? _  
_ Where will his actions lead us then? _  
_ Although I'd like to join the crowd_  
_ In their enthusiastic cloud_  
_ Try as I may, it doesn't last_

_ And will we ever end up together? _  
_ No, I think not, it's never to become_  
_ For I am not the one"_

**_Fin _**

_Act II: Enter Albel Nox, _

_Captain of the Black Brigade and Skirt Dresser extroadinaire  
_

Mackwell and Nel stood by the Southern Gates of Arias. This gate led straight to Kirlsa through Aire Hills. It was logical that whoever was kidnapping women would use this path to reach Mining City of Kirlsa. This path was not only the quickest but the safest. It was almost noon... The God of time was unforgiving. Every minute felt like hours and every hour felt like... well we get the picture. Time was moving slow. Kind of like when your almost completed with an experiment... you just have to wait for the finishing touches to perfection. You just have that impatient urge... But Mackwell knew well that waiting was a small price to pay. Self Control was important, afterall.

10 more minutes... Time couldn't move slower. Mackwell knew... the other path would be too treacherous. The Northern Gate led to Wastelands. The Barr mountains and Bequereal mines were overrun by monsters lately. Mackwell impatiently tapped his foot... To hide suspicion he was suited in heavy armor. It was extremely hot inside and smelled of sweat... completely unsanitary. It smelled like Claire's Dad... which doesn't smell very good. Speaking of which, the armor had two purposes. One was to hide his identity from the kidnappers and the other was to protect him from Adray who was probably hunting him down. The armor was smelly, hot and heavy. Not only that, it was many sizes too big. A Crow flew past the Grey City. The smell was increasing steadily...

"What's taking so long?" Mackwell asked impatiently.

"I'm not quite sure." Nel replied. She was very calm but you can tell she was pretty ticked off as well.

"Ugh..." Mackwell could barely move in the armor. He nervously shifted in the large plates. The poor Alchemist almost fell backwards from the weight. He had to lean on the wall for support. This was probably the third time he slipped. Mackwell furiously hit the wall. "Stupid piece of junk!"

"Calm down." Nel replied, "It's almost noon."

"Who's armor is this anyway?" Mackwell asked, "It smells like Sweat and old people."

"Wow, Mackwell... you're pretty good." Nel gave a small smile as she crossed her arms.

"What do you mean?" Mackwell asked. But he didn't need an answer... his eyes widened. No wonder it smelled so...so... _familiar_. "Disgusting!" Mackwell quickly shoved the helmet off his head, "Are you telling me, I'm wearing that old buffoon's armor?"

"Yep," Nel replied, "That was the only spare we had."

"No wonder it smells like..." Mackwell paused, "_Old Sweat._"

"It was his old armor... but... Claire and I tried several time to get the smell out." Nel shook her head, "Never prevailed. 10 years... that man sure can leave his mark."

"Remind me to take a shower... 10 showers..." Mackwell replied.

"Hah, even his scent is strong." Nel gave a small giggle.

"A little too strong..." Mackwell coughed. The smell was a _killer_.

"Are you alright?" Nel asked, "You don't look so well."

"I'm fine..." Mackwell replied.

Suddenly, the Clock struck Noon. The Birds perched near the newly made Clock tower flew away in terror. Most of them were crows who suddenly flew up in a large flock covering the skies like a black cloud. Both Nel and Mackwell looked up in surprise, slowly they stared ahead at the Street. Surely enough, a Wagon slowly approached. Nel quickly shut the gates to Aire Hills as the two waited. The Wagon stopped in front of them, the driver eyeing them. He was a very large man, hairy and he looked very old. He had a few teeth and big gorilla-like arms.

"Halt!" Mackwell attempted to mimic the guards. "Err... We must hold an inspection."

"I was already inspected." The Driver growled.

"No complaints!" Mackwell barked in his deepest soldier voice possible.

"Where are you heading?" Nel asked suspiciously looking at the large barrels that was presumeably filled with Beer and Liquor.

"Airyglyph, o' course." The Driver replied. "Wine Delivery Service."

"That sure is alot of wine." Nel whistled.

"Well we get... err... alot o' customers." The Driver was getting impatient as well as suspicious. Nel quickly tapped the Barrels, it sounded as if a liquid was in it. She ushered Mackwell to the Cargo hold. Mackwell also concluded that the Barrels must be filled with liquids...

"So what kind of Wine is this?" Nel asked.

"The regular old brandy." The Driver replied nervously, "Can we hurry it up? I'm in a rush."

"Just a minute." Nel called. Mackwell quickly searched the back there was nothing but hay and Barrels. The back sure smelled as if there were horses or animals in here once. His eyes scanned the Large barrels, it was true. _Women could fit in them_... but... Suddenly something caught his attention on the corner of his eye. It was a piece of black velvet and silk, it was torn from being caught on a stray nail. He quickly grabbed it and jumped out of the wagon.

"All clear!" Mackwell called.

"'Bout time," The Driver muttered. He cracked the whip and the Horses pulled the Wagon through the gates. Mackwell and Nel watched as the Wagon left Waterfront city, Arias. The small piece of cloth was clenched tightly in his hand. Surely enough it was hers... He recognized the embroidery decorated around it. Misty Lear was deffinitely in there at one point.

"What are you doing?" Nel hissed, "You're letting them go? Why?"

"Because," Mackwell whispered pulling the armor off, "I already found what I'm looking for."

"Is it the right one?" Nel asked.

"Yes," He held out the small piece of Velvet and Silk. "Misty Lear left us a parting gift."

"Then why didn't we just move now?" Nel asked calmly, "We could've attacked right there."

Mackwell shook his head, "Even if we did, we wouldn't find their lair... We found our proof now we're going to tail them." Mackwell brushed the dust off his cloak, "It's being drawn by a single horse it shouldn't be so hard. Well... that's my plan. If you have another idea then by all means..."

"No, this one sounds alright." Nel replied. "Stealth is always the first rule in Spy work..."

"Then, shall we?"

Nel and Mackwell quickly and quietly tailed the Wagon through the Aire hills. The Terrain was rocky and hiding wasn't very hard. They hid behind rocky ledges as well as bush clusters. In a few moments the Wagon would reach Kirlsa and beyond that would be Airyglyph. They watched as the Barrels began to jump around in the Wagon, the driver was rather careless... And Even in a slow pace, the foolish old man was in a rush. Either that, or he can't drive...

The Wagon slowed to a stop in front of the Kirlsa Gates. Several Storm Brigade Soldiers and Black Brigade Soldiers were stationed here. Mackwell could only hope they don't stop the wagon... The Soldiers peered at the barrels and ushered the wagon through the gates. Both Nel and Mackwell sighed in relief, they passed through the gates of Kirlsa and entered the Mining City... Their moments of relief was shortly interrupted.

"DOUBLE SLASH!"

It didn't take a genius to know who owned that skill... Albel Nox, Captain of the Black Brigade quickly cut the Wagon into a pile of splinters. His crimson eyes flashed dangerously, angered and annoyed.

"Albel!" Nel was alarmed.

"Worm." Albel kicked the Driver, "So you're the one causing all this annoying trouble..."

"W-what are you doing?" The Driver asked.

"Heh, Fool! It doesn't take a genius." Albel spat, he drew his katana the long blade inches away from the Driver's face. "Causing me so much trouble to hunt maggots like you, the penalty is _death_."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The Driver whined, "Please! Spare me!"

"Don't play stupid!" Albel struck the blade millimeters away from the man's leg. "We know you're hiding women in those wine barrels, who do you think you're fooling?"

"..." The man was quiet, stricken with fear.

"Pathetic worm," Albel hissed dangerously, "Insects such as you disgust me. I hope you have a last wish." He waited for a few seconds and then swung the blade down,"Time's up!"

"ALBEL NOX!" Nel yelled, her hands glowed as she chanted a few rune spells. "Ice needles!"

"Zelpher?" Albel quickly dodged the ice needles and swatted them away with his clawed hand. The Long pieces of ice embedded in his metal arm. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"That's my question to you!" Nel snapped irritatedly.

"This is my post! Why wouldn't I be here, fool?" Albel snapped back.

"Oooh..." The soldiers winced. Albel Nox 1, Nel Zelpher 0.

"Who's a fool?" Nel asked her face red with anger, "You just ruined our perfect plan! Why the heck did you interfere?"

"That's my Question!" Albel snapped.

"You gave me this mission, idiot! Or have you forgotten?" Nel asked.

"Ooooooh..." The Soldiers watched in surprise. Albel 1, Nel 1.

"Well, if you didn't take so goddamn long I wouldn't be doing this, FOOL!" Albel yelled back.

"Ahhhh... Albel Nox, 2... Crimson Blade, 1."

"Excuse me? Who was the one who was too Lazy to do this, huh?" Nel asked. "If I remember correctly it was _you_!"

"Ooooohh... Tied."

"Hah, I only wanted to do the _interesting _stuff." Albel sneered, "Thanks for doing the paper work for me, Zelpher. You're actually good at something for once."

"WHY YOU-!" Nel drew her daggers from their holsters.

The Two Elicoorians continued to argue back and forth, their neverending squabble. The Black brigade Soldiers attempted to hold back their Captain from slicing Nel into ribbons, whereas the Storm Brigade Soldiers held back the Furious Aquarian from burning a hole through Albel's head. Everyone was so busy watching the two argue... it was interesting. Some soldiers found it amusing for someone like Nel Zelpher to snap at Albel Nox, their superior. This was the perfect chance for the Driver to sneak away, _and this exactly what he tried to do_. No one really noticed that is... except Mackwell. When the man attempted to run away Mackwell stepped on the Man's Cloak causing him to trip over on his own two feet.

"Going somewhere?" Mackwell asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Outta my way Runt!" The driver growled.

"You took something that was mine." Mackwell replied coolly, "I'm just repaying the favor."

"Really?" The Driver snickered, "What're you going to do, little man? It's just me and you."

The Man pulled out a long knife and lunged forward at Mackwell. The Alchemist quickly dodged aside, he drew a vial from his cloak. The Man cursed as he bumped into a lamp post, quickly he got back up and jumped at Mackwell again. Mackwell once again moved aside and tossed the vial at the man's face. A large cloud of Yellow smoke erupted from the vial.

"AGH!" The Driver cursed. "What the F-ck is this? I can't move!"

"You wouldn't want to." Mackwell sighed, "That's my special Stun solution, It won't allow you to move for maybe... give or take 6 hours."

"You little F-cker!" The Driver cursed at Mackwell, "I can't see Shit!"

"That was a little extra I added in." Mackwell replied with a small grin, "I wouldn't move if I were you."

Mackwell grabbed The Man's collar and dragged him back towards the arguing Nel and Albel.

"You idiot!" Nel yelled, "We were going to Tail him back his little lair! Jeez why are you men so violent! Ever thought of using your brain for once, Nox?"

"Atleast I have one, Zelpher!" Albel snapped.

"Well gee," Nel scoffed, "You never seem to use it!"

"Well Zelpher, you can just forget about that Bet!" Albel yelled.

"Fine, I don't give a damn! I can't even stand you!" Nel yelled back.

"...and right now I can't stand your arguing." Mackwell interrupted. He tossed the driver in between the two Elicoorians. "You two fight like a married couple..." Mackwell asked impatiently, "Can we focus on the situation at hand, now?"

"Me? Married to him?" Nel pointed at Albel, "No way in APRIS will I ever _think _of liking this... this..."

"This...?" Mackwell asked.

"Crossdressing FREAK!" Nel huffed. _Ouch_... all the Soldiers gasped. They too, didn't know the reason why their superior wore a... well... a skirt I suppose. But Never, And I mean NEVER insult Albel's... uhh... _skirt_. That was like beyond a death wish. Albel's face reddened with anger and he drew his blade at Nel. Hissing venomously like a snake, The Soldiers all inched backwards from their angy Superior.

"CROSSDRESSER?" Albel exploded. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING, WOMAN?"

"Hmph, can't help that you wear a skirt, _Albel Nox_." Nel replied coolly. Emphasis on his name, "It can't be helped I suppose, maybe they didn't have _woman sized_ armor for you."

"YOU WORM!" Albel was about to cut Nel into mince meat but All the soldiers jumped on top of him to hold him back. Cursing, huffing and yelling, Albel couldn't get the pile of soldiers off of him. "GET OFF OF ME YOU MAGGOTS! I'M GOING TO DECAPITATE THAT WOMAN!"

"We can't, sir!" One of the soldiers replied nervously, "If you harm Lady Nel we might start another war."

"I DON'T CARE! I'LL KILL HER!" Albel began to curse some more. "DON'T MAKE ME KILL YOU WORMS, TOO!"

"You have to admit," The Soldier smiled nervously, "We still wonder why you wear a skirt too, sir."

"WHAT?" Albel roared.

"Let alone, Count Woltar would have our heads for this!" One of the other soldiers replied.

"Doesn't change the fact..." Mackwell began, "That you two still fight like a married couple."

"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Nel and Albel yelled in unison.

"Why in all blazes would I marry this... this..." Albel paused to think.

"This...?" Mackwell asked. He was listening keenly while opening a barrel of wine that was hidden in the wagon. Surely enough, there were women in these barrels. They were unconscious at the moment... The Barrels were three-quarters filled with wine, strange... It was probably to avoid tracking dogs from catching their scent.

"This...?" Nel asked impatiently, "Well, what do have to say to me, _Crossdresser_? I'm listening Nox, spit it out!"

"Skirt flasher..." Albel mumbled looking away.

"WHAT?" Nel asked her daggers inches away from Albel's head. "SAY THAT AGAIN?"

"Skirt flasher!" Albel countered, "Want me to spell it out for you, worm? S-K-I-R-T F-L-A-S-H-!"

"I'll GUT you, NOX!" Nel was about to jump at Albel but Mackwell held her back. The Aquarian began to flail around dangerously in anger.

"Calm down, Miss Zelpher!" Mackwell replied holding her back attempting to dodge the blows aimed for him as well.

"SKIRT FLASHER? HOW DARE YOU!" Nel hissed.

"Hmph," Albel had a sly grin on his face, "Atleast I have _some _modesty. Didn't know you Aquarians were like that..."

"Want me to rip out your spine, Nox?" Nel asked dangerously.

"Hmph," Albel shrugged, "Not like I'm complaining... I like the view from down here." Albel snickered. Nel's face turned bright red as she pulled her skirt down. In her other hand was a sharp dagger aimed right at Albel Nox.

"You can bet that will be the last sight you see!" Nel threatened.

"Atleast mine covers something, unlike yours." Albel replied.

"LADY NEL Calm down!" Mackwell once again had to restrain the angry Aquarian.

"LET ME GO MACKWELL! I'LL KILL HIM!" Nel roared.

"Is this one of your finer catches?" Albel sneered, "You better hold on to her good, boy. She's a violent maggot."

"Atleast I'm not GENDER-confused!" Nel snapped.

"ENOUGH!" Mackwell tossed a Stun bomb in between the two quarreling warriors. A Giant puff of red smoke erupted from the tiny vial. Albel Nox and Nel Zelpher began to cough as the smoke entered their lungs. It tasted and smelled kind of like Peppers and onions... either way, both of them found themselves stunned and unable to move. "We have a situation at hand here!" Mackwell was now irritated, "Lady Nel, please refrain from killing Sir Nox. And Sir Nox, you are to assist us on this investigation from now on!"

"What? Why the heck do I have to hang out with Maggots like you?" Albel snapped.

"He'll just Hinder us, Mackwell!" Nel complained.

"You caused us to lose our lead, Sir Nox. So from now on, you will be assisting us." Mackwell replied. "No exceptions, No excuses and No complaining."

"But-!" They both began.

"Not another word!" Mackwell ordered. "You can have your little lover's quarrel AFTER the mission."

"WE'RE NOT LOVERS!" They both shouted.

The Soldiers watched in horror as the Alchemist dragged their superior, Sir Nox, lady Nel and the Kidnapper. That man was _scary_... The Soldiers were then ordered to check the barrels and save the women... Both Nel and Albel glared at one another dangerously... If it wasn't for Mackwell they would have fought to the death!

"Worm..." Albel spat.

"Crossdressing, sorry excuse for a man..." Nel spat back.

"If it wasn't for this maggot..." Albel began.

"If it wasn't for Mackwell..." Nel began.

"YOU WOULD BE DEAD!" The both yelled.

"Well, Zelpher it looks like we agree on something for once." Albel replied coolly.

"Shut up, Nox." Nel insulted.

"I said be quiet back there!" Mackwell replied, "Didn't I say you can have your little lover's quarrel LATER?"

"WE'RE NOT LOVERS!" They both yelled.

"Right..." The Driver replied sarcastically.

"YOU SHUT UP!" They both snapped at the Driver.

_Act III: Not a moment to spare  
_

"I think its a splendid idea!" Woltar replied with a smile.

"What did you say, old man?" Albel yelled, "You can't be serious!"

"Well, Albel..." Woltar walked over to the window of his room, "I think this would be a perfect _oppurtunity_."

"Rotten Old man, You're _actually _sending me to help these fools?" Albel was shocked. "Oppurtunity my foot!"

"It was your mission, Albel." Woltar replied, "If I remember correctly I gave you that mission _personally_. Also, they proved themselves quite well in battle... why not assist them? You did mess up their investigation..."

"So your saying it's MY FAULT?" Albel asked.

"Yes." Woltar replied bluntly.

"_Ugh... fine! Fine I'll do it_!" Albel snapped.

Albel slammed his clawed fist on Woltar's desk. Count Woltar, the master of Kirlsa as well as the Storm Brigade was well respected by Aquarian and Airyglyphian's alike. Also, what made him even more well-respected was that he can control the Wild and Vicious Albel Nox like a father. Well... it wasn't Albel's fault he had to listen to an old man but the old guy did raise him side-by-side with his father... You gotta give the old man that credit. And since he failed the Ascension of Flames ceremony, Woltar persuaded King Arzei to make him Captain of the Black Brigade. Albel wasn't thrilled by the idea of helping Nel... but it seemed he had no choice.

"So will you comply, Albel?" Woltar asked.

"Yeah..." Albel replied. "Rotten old man... throwing me to the dogs like always."

"Now, now Albel." Woltar smiled, "I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Hmph, fine." Albel got up and made his way to the door. "But just this once!"

The Door slammed shut behind the furious Swordsman. Count Woltar gave a small sigh. _That Albel... his pride might rip him to shreds one day_. Woltar gave a small chuckle as he dabbed his feather pen in a bottle of ink and began to scribble on some pages of parchment. So much work, so little time... Woltar gazed at the papers. Bills...

"Medical bills for the soldiers..." Woltar muttered. "So he hurt them again today? My, my..."

**10,000 Fol **

"Damage on Public Property..." Woltar put on some reading glasses.

**100,000 Fol**

"This week's Rations and Military income for my soldiers..."

**1,000,000 Fol**

Woltar gave a small smile, as he wrote himself another note. "Pissing Off Albel again today... _Priceless_..."

_Psycho dog: For everything else, there's master card!_

_(Crowd Boo's) DOWN IN FRONT!_

_Psycho dog: (cries) "Oh, the cruelty!" _

(Scene Change...)

Mackwell, Albel and Nel were seated around the dining table in Woltar's manor. Everyone was silent... not a word was said. A tray of tea and biscuits were placed in front of them by one of the House maids. Nel's arms were crossed, her eyes closed... she didn't want to open them because if she did, she'd be looking at that eye-sore, Albel Nox. Albel was scratching his blade with his claws, it was boring and he had nothing better to do. Mackwell was ignoring the irritating scratching from the blade. He was busy reading the Peterny Newsletters for more leads. No one said a word...

... Not a word...

...Nothing was said...

**_Screeee_**... went Albel's claw over the blade.

...Nothing...

_**Screeeeee**_...

Nope...

**_Screeeeeeee_**...

...Nel gave a cough...

_**Screeeeeeee**_... The sharp sound of steel...

Mackwell reached over for his cup of tea and took a sip...

...**_Screeeeeeee_**...

Mackwell turned the page of the newspaper...

**_Screeeeeeeeeek_**...

Nel shifted uncomfortabley...

_**Screeeeeeeeeeeek**_...

"Quit it, Nox." Nel replied irritated.

"Make me," Albel replied back. He had a small smile, he loved to annoy others. Zelpher was a bonus.

"Oh, grow up..." Nel snapped. "Just looking at you gives me a _headache_!"

"Hmph, well your not much of a looker yourself." Albel snapped back.

"Hey Nox, do you like your tongue?"

"What do you mean?" Albel asked.

"Just wondering..." Nel replied giving a sneaky grin, "Just wondering if I should put a knife through it."

"Will you two stop it?" Mackwell took another sip of the tea. "I don't like this as much as the next guy, but we have to work together..."

"Who the heck are you, anyway?" Albel asked.

"Mackwell..." Mackwell replied, his eyes continuing to skim the pages of the Newspaper.

"He's from the inventor's guild." Nel answered.

"I know, woman! I'm not a fool!" Albel snapped dangerously.

"Really?" Nel asked, "Sorry, Nox I haven't noticed."

"Silence!" Mackwell shut the two up immediately by pulling out another vial from his cloak.

There was a more pause of silence as the time ticked by. They were running out of time and yet, here they are... The clock struck 5:00 P.M. Mackwell gave a small sigh as he turned the pages again, Albel impatiently was tapping his fingers on his blade as well as reaching over for another biscuit. Nel silently waited.

"I got it!" Mackwell caused both Warriors to immediately jump in surprise.

"You found something?" Nel asked.

"Get on with it, Worm!" Albel replied.

"That ticket we found on the driver... it seems its for a bar that's opening tomorrow night." Mackwell replied.

"Huh? How'd you figure that?" Albel asked, "There's so many bars in Airyglyph... what's so special about this one?"

"I was getting to that." Mackwell displayed the small add, "First, its their grand opening tomorrow and second, the small mascot is identical... Since only nobles and a few members are attending I'm guessing its a 100 percent, top secret..."

"A whore house?" Albel asked.

"Precisely..." Mackwell nervously shifted his cloak by the words.

"Hmph, that would explain the wine cargo... and the kidnappings... We probably have to infiltrate from the inside..." Nel suggested.

"So where do we get tickets?" Albel asked.

"That, I don't know... and from what I know it's probably expensive..." Mackwell replied, "Not that, it's a problem or anything but it might be rowdy there..."

"We only have one ticket..." Nel replied. The three stared down at the small ticket on the table.

"Let's just beat up whoever has one and take them." Albel replied, "It's not that hard, you know."

"Well, we'll worry about that later." Mackwell tucked the ticket into his cloak, "We have to get to Airyglyph As soon as possible."

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Albel quickly grabbed for his blade and was about to storm down the stairs of Woltar's manor. Before he could even take another step down the stairs they were interrupted.

"Sorry to Intrude," Woltar appeared out of his study, "My, my, you young ones seem busy."

"What do you want, Old man?" Albel asked.

"Oh, I couldn't help but overhear..."

"Eavesdropping again old man?" Albel snapped.

"I just wanted to say, there's a blizzard in Airyglyph at the moment... maybe you would like to go tomorrow?"

The three were silent... Albel hates the cold, he wasn't too pleased to walk around in the middle of a Snow Storm. Nel too didn't like the idea but... Mackwell knew well, Snow Storm or not, he had to go. The grand Opening was tomorrow night and he didn't have a moment to spare.

"I care not..." Mackwell got up. "I'm sorry but I'm going."

"Are you mad?" Albel asked, "Are you asking to freeze to death, worm? Of course that would be good news for me, but do you not know how cold Airyglyph is, fool?"

Mackwell shook his head, "I can handle it."

"No you can't." Nel got up, "I know your body isn't very strong, Mackwell... you can't do this." Her eyes were filled with concern... Mackwell only pulled away. Her eyes were filled with concern... it reminded him of when Misty Lear told him she was concerned with him too... _she cried that night_. Mackwell knew, concern or not, he had to go. His body may not be strong but his will is, that's all he needed.

"Hmph," Albel walked over to Woltar, "Get me my Snow Coat, Old man."

"Oh?" Woltar asked.

"Well? what are you waiting for, Old man? Or do you want me to freeze to death?"

"I thought you hated the cold." Woltar chuckled, pulling out a large black snow coat.

"I do." Albel scowled, "What kind of Fool builds a kingdom on top of a God forsaken mountain... Blasphemous bastards... Mountains are freakin' cold... grr..."

"We're coming with you." Nel gave a small smile, "if you don't mind..."

Mackwell smiled, "Right..."

Woltar handed Mackwell and Nel a warm Snow coat each. One was red and the other Grey, the Coats were thick and heavy made of Black Silk and Animal furs. Woltar was prepared... afterall he takes weekly visits for Arzei's counciling. And Like Albel said, It was extremely cold in Airyglyph... Blizzard or not.

"Have fun, children. I do hope you return for some tea soon."

_Act IV: Out of the blizzard and into the... Cat house?  
_

Mackwell, Nel and Albel silently trudged along the Traum mountains. It was freezing cold, Albel couldn't help but yell curses in the Windy Mountain trails. Their face was white from the cold winds but they trudged on their way. They could have gone by Wagon but the trail was covered in treacherous ice and snow... Therefore the three had to _walk_. Due to strong winds, the travel took twice as long... Nel could barely cast a single firebolt in the Strong Winds. The only thing that could keep them warm was the coats, the intense fighting and some strange heated chemical that Mackwell brought along with him. What applied to skin it would cause a heating sensation... and it wasn't acidic...

The Monsters have been more violent and more territorial since the blizzard hit. They quickly had to dispatch them out of the way... After what seemed like hours of walking Albel, Nel and Mackwell were so happy to see the Bridge that lead to the Capital City of Airyglyph. The quickly crossed it and rushed into the city, their first stop was the inn.

"Ah, sorry." The innkeeper bowed apologetically. "We're all booked tonight, no spare rooms available."

"What did you say, girl?" Albel hissed. "I'm freezing my braids off in that goddamn blizzard and you won't give us a room?"

"You see, ever since the blizzard we've received many reservations."

"RESERVATIONS?" Albel was terrorizing around the room, "Who the heck is visiting AIRYGLYPH in the middle of a BLIZZARD? I should just kill them and Steal their Reservations for myself! Blundering fools!"

"Calm down, Albel." Nel replied patting the swordsman in the head, "We can go get a room at the Palace or something..."

"Arzei better have room! Or else I'll annoy the daylights out of him!" Albel huffed. "Who the heck is staying?"

"Oh, I don't know... some wealthy nobles I suppose." The innkeeper replied.

"Nobles?" The three quickly hustled to the fireplace.

"Tomorrow's the night..." Mackwell replied, "So we're finally here..."

"Let's just kill the maggots and steal their tickets and reservations." Albel suggested, "We're going to kill them anyway, right?"

"Then they'll find out about us!" Mackwell whispered, "Let's just lie low or something..."

"Lie low, better not be to _lie in the snow_." Albel muttered, "You two can do that, but I'm getting a room to sleep in!"

"Well maybe we can persuade the innkeeper-!" But before Mackwell could finish his sentence, Albel stormed to the Counter. He slammed his clawed fist on the table making both the counter and the innkeeper jump in surprise. Mackwell and Nel both sighed...

"Look, girl..." Albel clenched his clawed fist over a sack of fol, "I, Albel Nox demand a room! Now screw the damn reservations and give me a room!"

"B-but sir-!" The girl began.

"I don't care about your excuses, maggot. I just stormed through a blizzard to get here now get me a room!"

"Sir, we already have reservations! you can't just-!"

"Relax..."

Everyone's attention turned to the guests that just arrived in the inn. One was a large muscular man, the other a lean and timid gentlement. The Snow blew in the room and caused a frigid chill enter the area. Albel only stared at the two.

"Still bitter as always, Albel Nox." Gusto put a bear like arm around Albel's neck. "SMILE, Albel!"

"Get off me you, big Lummox!" Albel struggled in Gusto's grip.

"SMILE ALBEL!" Gusto gave a toothy grin, "CHEESE!"

"I don't like Cheese, you buffoon!"

"Aww, Albel! You know that's why you aren't big or muscular! Lack of Protein!" Gusto laughed swinging Albel around in his grip. "You'll be a thin noodle all your life!"

Albel bit Gusto's arm. Gusto jumped in surprise.

"Ouch! He bit me!" He pushed his arm to Nel, "Does this look infected to you?"

"No..." Nel pushed the large muscular arm down, "Gusto, you remember Albel?"

"Of course!" Gusto laughed, "Why would I ever forget about my old Smithing buddy? Me, Lias, Albel and that Cliff... we sure are something."

"Ugh..." Albel moaned, "I wish I could forget the bigger Maggot..."

"Lias... what are you doing here?" Mackwell asked the quiet Smith. Lias simply smiled and bowed at Nel and Mackwell.

"We made reservations, you see..." Lias replied.

"Lucky..." Nel crossed her arms, "We have to head to the palace to get a room."

"What? Really?" Gusto gave Albel another bear like hug, "Don't go to all the trouble! Bunk with us for the Night! Just Think, Albel and I are having a SLEEP OVER! It's kind of like Camping! Except with alot of snow... and lack of beds..."

"You'll let us stay?" Nel asked, "Really?"

"Of course," Lias replied. His voice was barely a whisper and his face was paler than usual.

"The more the merrier, I always say." Gusto gave a grin.

"Ugh forget it, I'd rather sleep outside than with this maggot..." Albel headed for the door.

"But Albel I thought you wanted to sleep in a bed? What's with the sudden change of heart?" Nel asked.

"Sleeping out in the cold is better than sleeping in the same room with this fool." Albel huffed. "The guy snores like a monster."

"Do you have room?" Nel asked.

"We rented two rooms." Gusto replied with a smile. "We have plenty of room."

"Looks like we're staying..." Mackwell bowed to Lias, "Thanks for the invitation."

"N-not a problem..." Lias replied with a gentle smile.

The Five of them headed upstairs to their rooms. The Well furnished rooms were quite cozy as Gusto set up the rooms. Lias, Gusto and Albel were to sleep in one room. To Albel's dismay, he tried to run away but Gusto gripped him quite tightly. Something about, "Smithing Talk" and Roasting Marshmellows and temptering steel around the fire... Mackwell and Nel shared the room next door. There was much yelling from Albel in the room next door, they heard some breaking of furniture as Albel chased Gusto around the room with his sword.

"They seem to be having fun." Mackwell muttered taking out some clean clothes from his bag. He heard some crashing in the room as Albel smacked Gusto with a chair.

"Yeah," Nel responded. "Are you feeling ok?" Nel asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Mackwell asked.

"Just wondering... you still look ill..." Nel replied.

"Nothing some tea can't cure..." Mackwell answered, "I'm fine, don't worry so much."

"I can't help but worry." Nel shook her head, "Well I'll go get you some tea then..."

"Thank you." Mackwell replied. Nel nodded and exited the room. Mackwell stared outside the snow covered window. He whiped the Fog from the glass and peered outside... the blizzard wasn't as harsh. He could see glimpse of the night sky, above. He was so close... so very close to finding Misty Lear. Yet, he couldn't help feel something bad would happen. And what was this feeling in his head? Everytime he thought about her his face would turn slightly red and he would get a slight head ache. He shook his head and laid his head down on the bed. It was soft and warm, kind of like his cats at home. Mackwell buried his face into the soft feather pillows and drifted into a weary sleep.

Next Scene>

_Setting: Gusto's room, Airyglyph Inn _

"So that's what happened!" Gusto pat Mackwell on the back. "S'ok Mackwell, you'll get her back."

"Well... thank you." Mackwell replied. "But it seems your in a deep predicament yourself."

"Well, I guess so." Gusto shrugged. "Come on, Lias! Cheer up we'll find em' both."

"But it was my fault..." Lias mumbled wearily. His calm, sad face was grief stricken. He looked jumpy and pale...

It seemed Gusto, Lias and Stanice were unexpectedly transferred to Airyglyph. Unaware of the Blizzard, Miss Stanice accidentally was blown away by the Strong Airyglyphian winds. Lias accidentally let go of her hand and she went flying well, she could fly but... Flown with the wind... being light as a feather must be kind of scary. It was a funny thought for Mackwell... he could just imagine her being blown away with the same carefree smile. Yep, smile while you are blown away with the wind... Strange thought indeed... Anyway she too, was kidnapped. How did they know? A soldier happened to have spotted her with a group of strange men a while ago... In this flurry of snow outside it was impossible to find her now.

So here we are now. Gusto, Mackwell, Lias, Nel and Albel were sitting in Gusto's room pondering on a plan. One ticket... 4 men and a girl...

"How about we-!" Albel began.

"No Albel, we are not going to storm in the room and kill everyone." Nel snapped.

"Then maybe we should-!" Albel began again.

"We are not going to mug some guy for his tickets..." Mackwell interrupted.

"WILL YOU MAGGOTS STOP THAT!" Albel yelled, "I have a right to speak, worms!"

"We need to infiltrate a..." Mackwell paused for the right word.

"Whore house." Albel finished for him.

"Err... yes... So what is a possible plan? We can't go in alone, right?" Mackwell began to think. "Surrounded by drunkards... quite a dangerous predicament..."

Lias gave a small sigh.

"I have a perfect plan!" Gusto jumped, "And It will involve all of us!"

"Do tell." Mackwell insisted. All of them huddled together as Gusto whispered the plan to them. After many seconds of hushed whispering, everyone's face began to pale. The idea... the idea...

"WE'RE GOING TO DO WHAT!" Albel yelled.

"Come on! It's the only plan we got! Besides if we play our cards right we'll all be able to get in!" Gusto snapped his fingers, "Full proof plan."

"NO WAY!" Albel was about to storm out of the room, "NOT IN ALL HELL WILL I DO THIS!"

"I don't like the idea much either..." Nel sighed, "But it's the only possible chance..."

"Are you Mad, Zelpher?" Albel began to curse and swear under his breath. "I'd rather eat Maggot waste!"

"Well..." Gusto turned to Mackwell, "Let's let Mackwell decide."

"Alchemist!" Albel hissed, "Where's your dignity as a man? This plan is ridiculous! Say no, fool!"

"We'll do it." Mackwell said almost immediately.

"Really?" Nel and Albel leaned forward. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, it is our only plan and we'll take it." Mackwell gave a nervous smile, "How bad can it be?"

"Excellent!" Gusto jumped from his seat and headed for the door, "I'll be getting prepared, all you kids stay in here."

Before anyone could argue the door was slammed shut. Everyone was silent... Albel stared venomously at Mackwell. They stayed in this position in what seemed to be an hour. Nel was deep in thought, Mackwell hoped he didn't dig too deep a grave, Albel was obviously pissed off and Lias was still as pale as a ghost. They waited silently as the wind whistled by. The Clock below struck 8:00 p.m. Mackwell looked up at the night sky, the clouds still hung low in the sky as snow continued to drift down. Snow... in the middle of Summer... The two Countries were on opposite hemispheres but it struck Mackwell as pretty odd. Suddenly, the door swung open and Gusto appeared with a load of packages!

"Gather around Ladies and Gents!" Gusto handed each of them a package.

"What is this?" Albel asked holding up the black box in his hand.

"Yer Christmas Present, nah I'm just foolin' its our disguises!" Gusto laughed. "Hurry up and Open em!"

"Err...Gusto..." Lias began.

"I picked the perfect ones for each of ya! Come on!"

Each of them wordlessly opened their packages... In less than a minute everyone in the room was petrified... or downright stunned.

"Gusto... you_ maggot_." Albel was a mixture of horror and anger. "NO WHERE IN THIS WORLD OR THE NEXT I'M GOING TO WEAR THIS!"

"Aww, come on! It matches you perfectly!" Gusto laughed.

"What the hell is this?" Nel asked.

"Well, since your the only girl I had to get you some special." Gusto replied.

Lias and Mackwell were just speechless... it was kind of like a Cosplay Cafe. Mackwell had what looked like a maid's outfit... thank god it was a long skirt but he only peered at it confused. It was black with a white apron and pink frills... There was also tiny ribbons to match. Mackwell's eyes twitched... he was a man who liked Red and gold especially on his cloak and robes. Red meant honor... gold represented pride... Yet... pink was deffinitely not one of his favorite colors. Let alone the fact that he wasn't very fond of frills and laces.

Lias had before him what seemed to be a priestess outfit... It wasn't very revealing but it too was matched with Pink frills. The Black and White Skirt really wasn't very different from his own Robes. Yet, it was still quite disturbing... _Especially the matching lingerie_... Lias' face was now super pale, as if the blood was drained from his face.

Albel had a typical velvet dress. Or that's what he wished it was. What he had before him was what a Gothic Lolita doll would wear. It was a long black gown with frills and Laces all over, it wasn't like Mackwell's or Lias'... Oh no... It was COVERED in Laces and Ribbons. Luckily it was quite long... He even had a frilly headress to match! Mmm... Gotta love the black ribbons and all. he also got stockings as well, spider web patterned. Nel would laugh at Albel but she too was horrified at her own package. A kitty costume... actually costume was an understatement. It was barely even clothes. There was a kitty head band with a striped short skirt... and a matching tail. Looks like Halloween came early this year.

Everyone looked up at Gusto... The Muscular man gave a smile.

"Well? What do you guys think? Isn't it great?"

* * *

XD ALBEL? In a gothic Lolita Dress? 

Sick... ( I say this whenever I like something... replaces the word "cool" I suppose)

Hahaha anyway sorry for Taking so long. I hope this super long chapter made up for it. If Not... well SORRY.

Happy Late Halloween! And I LOVE SALLY'S SONG...

Scratch that I love every Song in Nightmare before X-mas! Jack Skellington is so sexy XD.


	8. Masquerade Part I

_Chapter VIII: Masquerade part I  
_

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Ocean, Blah Blah, If I did I would be some owner of a huge enterprise and Have my sights on the world, Blah Blah.

* * *

_Act I: Lovely young Maidens_

"There is _No Goddamn _way I'm going to wear this." Albel snarled tossing the lacy dress at Gusto.

"Aww come on, Albel!" Gusto pulled the Lacy dress off his face. "I thought it suits you very well!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, MAGGOT?" Albel roared aiming the long blade at Gusto.

"Gee Albel, If you don't like it... I saw a nice nurse outifit at one of the-" Gusto began.

"Silence!" Albel struck the blade through the wall next to Gusto's neck.

"Or maybe you'd like to be a-!" Gusto began again.

"Quiet, Maggot!" Albel interrupted again.

"I saw this nice School girl's outfit-!" Gusto began again.

"SHUT IT!" Albel snapped. "Are you making a fool of me, Gusto?"

Gusto immediately became quiet. Albel the wicked's arm was shaking violently in anger. To erode away his reputation by wearing some... some... _Prostitute's attire_. He would rather jump out in the snow naked than do something so... _humiliating_. Atleast, if he ran outside Naked no one would dare look at him due to the cold weather and the blizzard. Also, if they did Albel would slit their throats in mere seconds. He was more furious now than when Nel called him a crossdresser. Because now, _he was going to Crossdress for real_. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The room was quiet... The Blizzard wind blowing outside began to rattle the windows. No one spoke a word.

Mackwell stared at the dress before him, his eyes twitching slightly and plastered on his face was a rather disturbed expression. Lias was ice-cold frozen, his whole body was trembling. And Nel... well she was just shocked, disturbed, and downright err... disturbed. Her eyes were fixed upon the... the... Cat Lingerie...The Fuzzy ears and the Long white tail... it was also striped. The same sentence ran through her mind. Repeating over and over again... It was as if she was in a trance.

_Burn it... _

_Burn it..._

_Firebolt it to Oblivion..._

_Burn it into cinders... _

_Take no Prisoners..._

_Destroy them all! _

From the looks of it. Nel's face was a mixed bag of Negative Emotions. Hatred? Anger? Disturbed? Shocked? Disheartened? Homicidal? Well, we know one thing, excitement and happiness is blown out of it. This reminded her of the time when Roger S. Huxley broke into her room and tossed her underwear all over the place. Oh the horrors.

"Isn't it great?" Gusto laughed, "They were having a Sale!"

Everyone's heads turned to Gusto. Their eyes glowing menacingly. Poor, Poor Gusto didn't know he was about to be killed in 3 seconds and Poor, Poor Gusto did not realize that they're speechless expressions were **NOT**, 'Oh my God I love it so much that I can't speak'. Oh No, the Speechless expressions were more of a 'Oh my God, Gusto I want to kill you, rip out your spine and beat you to a blood pulp for this humiliating guise.' Well either way, Both Nel and Albel were furious.

"What the hell is _this_?" Nel asked holding up the outfit. Her voice threatening and low.

"A Cat costume." Gusto simply replied.

"Ok, so now i know we're both not blind..." Nel tossed the Costume at Gusto. "And you want me to...? If you say you want me to wear this I-!"

"Wear it as a disguise." Gusto replied.

" This Isn't even a DISGUISE! No way in APRIS will I ever wear that!"

"Really? Why?" Gusto asked slightly puzzled. "I think it's nice..."

"Do you NOT understand?" Nel yelled, "This's not clothes! This is... This is..."

"Prostitute attire." Albel finished her sentence.

"Exactly!" Nel crossed her arms and defiantly turned around. Gusto stared at the Kitty Clothes. "Those make me feel like a..."

"Prostitute." Albel answered.

"Well I thought it was the best second to Albel's Gothic-!" Before Gusto could finish Albel shot a dangerous look at the Black Smith. Gusto immediately became quiet. He felt their anger but didn't really understand _why_... Albel Nox was still pissed. His anger was at his peak... On the other hand, Mackwell and Lias were still gawking at their own package. Rather speechless they couldn't find the right words to describe their situation. The two Inventors were rummaging through Gusto's bag to see what else he bought. What they found was rather disturbing... They found bottles of perfume, one was called 'La La Lilac' and the other was 'Strawberry Sensation'... When they smelled it, not only was it strong but also fruity and terribly sweet. There was assorted colors of lip stick, lip gloss, blush, eye liners, some bras, a brush, hairpins and also some cotton swabs.

Lias nervously stared at the small bottles of perfume... the Pink liquid was nausiating. Mackwell was wondering where a guy like Gusto would buy such... oddities. Not only that, but How the hell did he get them? Wasn't it embarrassing? Wasn't it suspicious at all? The Alchemist knew, they had little choice in the matter... but someone had to tell that to Albel and Nel.

"Why the hell do I have to wear this trash?" Albel asked, "If you want us to wear it so badly worm than why don't you do it yourself!"

"But-!"

"How low do you think I'll go, maggot?" Albel hissed, "Or are you just _asking _to die?"

"But, Albel don't you see?" Gusto began, "_I can't_."

"Why not?" Albel asked impatiently, "There is no way in hell I'll wear this! You can wear the skirt and I'll use the ticket."

"Aww, come on Albel!" Gusto pleaded. "Just this once!"

"No." Albel answered.

"I don't see what's so bad, Nox." Nel replied coldly, "I would've thought you'd be thrilled with the idea."

"What was that, Zelpher?" Albel asked icily.

"Now you have a new dress for your skirt collection." Nel gave a small smile, "Or maybe it's not your size?"

"Shut it, Worm!" Albel snapped, "Don't pick a fight with me! You'll regret it."

"I mean you crossdress plenty of times already, haven't you?" Nel teased.

"It's NOT CROSSDRESSING you fool!" Albel yelled, "And... I wouldn't be talking Kitty-Cat! Atleast I don't have to dress in your sorry excuse for clothes! Let alone new Lingerie!"

"Dare say that again, Nox?" Nel pulled out her daggers and aimed them at Albel.

"Feline!" Albel teased. They both lunged at each other.

"Hey now! Let's not fight, children!" Gusto grabbed both of them by their collars. "Calm down!"

"It's all your fault to begin with, fool!" Albel spat struggling in Gusto's grip, "You worm! If you want us to dress up so badly wear it yourself and let me use the goddamn Ticket!"

"Albel..." Gusto's face darkened, "Do you really want me to wear a dress? I mean, REALLY want me to wear one?"

Both Nel and Albel Froze at the thought... It was a strange thought indeed. Strange and extremely disturbing...Gusto, a muscular, tanned, fully grown, abnormally tall and extremely huge Blacksmith in a dress... It was enough to send chills down one's spine. Albel's expression was contorted in utter digust. As for Nel, her eyes bugged out slightly. Putting Gusto in a dress was like making Adray wear a Highschool girl's uniform... The thought was just wrong. To further their imagination, Gusto placed the dress in front of him as if pretending he was wearing it. Nel and Albel exploded on the thought.

"PUT IT DOWN, GUSTO!" Nel yelled.

"See?" Gusto showed it to Albel.

"YOU WORM! give me that!" He swiped the dress from the Blacksmith.

"It's so sad." Gusto had tears in his eyes, "It just doesn't look good on me! It doesn't look pretty enough on me, ya hear? Not pretty enough!"

"Ok, ok we get the picture!" Nel gasped.

"But I'd say this is more of my taste..." Gusto placed the Kitty Costume in front of him. "What do you guys think?"

"NO, GUSTO!" Nel swiped it from Gusto's hands. "Please... just don't..."

"So you'll wear them?" Gusto asked with hope. "Come on, you guys! Just this once!"

"Don't get any stupid ideas!" Albel snarled, "We just don't want to see a lummox like you to traumatize our minds for life!"

"Aww come on, Albel it aint so bad. I mean, how humiliating can it be?" Gusto began.

"We're done..."

Albel, Nel and Gusto quickly turned around. Out of the Double Closets, Lo! It was Mackwell and Lias in their disguises. Mackwell was wearing his maid outfit, the Black and white dress was neatly worn. He nervously began to straighten the laces as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror. In the other hand, he was tying his hair with many colorful ribbons. His young face was covered in a little bit of make up and his hair was not as messy as usual. The Alchemist's stern face magnified his 'beauty in an odd way'. Lias on the other hand was trembling, his nervous smile and glasses made him seem more feminine than usual. He retained his normal charm, he wasn't wearing any make up though. Albel stared, midly surprised, mildly disturbed that they were really men... Nel was totally astonished that it was really Lias and Mackwell wearing a dress... And Gusto... Well Gusto had stars in his eyes. They looked real... No one would know that they were men if they saw them.

"Err... So." Mackwell replied nervously, "How do I look?"

"Like a woman." Albel replied bluntly.

"Well... I guess I'll take that as a compliment..." Mackwell sighed, "That's the point isn't it? What a pain... a waste of time..."

"How does it feel, Lias?" Mackwell asked the Nervous Smith behind him.

"Err... it feels odd..." Lias replied with a small smile, "But nothing too bad I can't handle. This is, afterall one of the excitement in this journey we call life."

"Hmmm..." Mackwell brushed the dust off his dress, "The only question is if these disguises are good enough. I don't like to waste my time If I don't even look feminine enough..."

"Mackwell! Lias!" Gusto gave the two a hug, "I knew you two would see it my way! I love you guys-!"

Before he could finish his sentence Lias and Mackwell quickly hit him away.

"This is only temporary! Understood?" Mackwell snapped.

"But of course..." Gusto replied rubbing his nose. It was nose bleeding for reasons more than one. They looked like Authentic women! Gusto knew, with a little more help he would make them seem more feminine. Gusto gave a smile, this was a triumphant victory. Kind of like making a high quality blade that you know is sucessful. Gusto loved the feeling of the Heat and Flames of glory! It is Afterall the person that makes the warrior not the weapon, but it sure helps. And in this case, it is the person in these fine young gentleman that made them... well... victorious.

"You two look... wow..." Nel was lost in words. "I mean... you two are just, you guys are good."

"I thank you." Mackwell replied stiffly.

"Bah, you two should just dress like that forever." Albel mocked, "Atleast you look better that way."

"Excuse me?"' Mackwell asked almost threateningly.

"Just saying..." Albel replied icily, "Now you're not much of a dead weight as you are an eye-sore."

Mackwell pushed his silver hair back, "Hmph, I don't see you in your disguise, Sir Nox. I'm hoping you don't plan to jeopardize our mission, do you? A real man would take any challenge..."

Albel's face turned red with anger from the comment. How dare he, a mere Alchemist, tell Albel Nox how to be manly! This Alchemist, who only cares about himself and his work! He is neither strong nor powerful, just a measely Alchemist, A book worm with far too many suitors to count! This enfuriated Albel more than Zelpher's comments. Atleast Zelpher was a formidable Maggot but this man barely sets foot in battle! Lowly Maggots do not diss Warriors such as he! Albel was lost of words. Both Mackwell and Nel could see that a sore spot was hit pretty badly.

"Ah well, I guess its natural to be embarrassed." Mackwell chuckled as he neatly folded the cuffs of his sleeve.

"What does it matter to you?" Albel replied coldly, "Atleast I have some decency and pride as a man!"

"Hmm, But I don't see it that bad to throw it away temporarily..." Mackwell replied. Everyone was shocked to hear this from Mackwell... a most refined gentleman. "It's a small price to pay to protect something most dear to you."

Nel sighed. Her pride was in her kingdom of Aquaria... Mackwell made a pretty good point. Dressing up in a Kitty Lingerie for one night was a small price to pay for her kingdom's safety and order. Albel eyed her suspiciously as Nel picked up the Silly excuse for a disguise. Albel had only one thought in his mind... 'Oh Hell... You're actually going to wear that, worm?' Nel silently walked into the changing room/ closet. As she entered the small secluded space the Aquarian eyed Mackwell's clothes in the corner. His cloak, robe and suit was neatly folded and in the room was also a long mirror.

Quickly and silently she changed into the outfit. It was composed of merely underwear, A kitty headband, white gloves, white boots and a tail. She reluctantly changed into this humiliating excuse for a costume. But, determined as she was, she knew there was no other way. Her "uncle" Adray would probably just laugh at the idea. The man loved anything new... Guess that's what made him fearless. He wouldn't hesitate to wear a dress if he had to... but then again. That's **ADRAY**. Nel shuddered at the thought of Adray in a girl's high school uniform... He was fearless... that's what made him a hero. Nel quickly put the clothes on, luckily the boots went up to her knees and the gloves reached as far as her elbows... but it felt so revealing. Quickly and silently she slinked out of the changing room hoping not to be noticed.

Mackwell, Lias and Gusto were chatting in front of the fire on how to make the disguise more convincing. Gusto was helping Mackwell with his hair and Lias silently listened in the conversation. Nel slipped into the beds in the room and covered herself with the covers.

"Nice outfit, Zelpher." Albel replied. Nel almost jumped in surprise.

"If your going to laugh, hurry it up." Nel snapped.

"I didn't say anything... yet." Albel replied coolly. "Troublesome girl, now I _have _to wear this stupid thing."

"Hmph," Nel replied with a grim smile, "Your welcome Albel."

"Yeah yeah..." Albel muttered. He grabbed the Lacy Gothic Lolita dress and stormed his way into the closet...er... changing room. Slamming the door shut and with a sharp 'click' he locked himself in. From inside the door there was some slight cursing and complaining. From what they heard he had some trouble getting it on. But in 15 minutes he slammed the door open and sat on the bed with his arms crossed.

Now, Seeing Albel in a Gothic lolita dress was quite the sight. He had some black spider webbed decorated stockings and his black dress was covered in pink and purple laces and ribbons. His defiant face was quite feminine and his long black and blonde streaked hair was a nice touch along with the dress. Mackwell gave off a low chuckle. Nel and Lias were quite pale and Gusto was excited.

"You look..." Mackwell choked half laughing, "Pretty..."

"Shut up, worm." Albel snapped back.

"Wow, it really suits you, Nox." Nel giggled.

"..." Albel gave her a scornful look.

"Oh my god! Albel!" Gusto gave him a brotherly punch in the back, "I knew you would see it my way! I'm so excited! You look great! Like a newly forged sword after a hard day's work! Now if you let me fix your hair than-!" Before Gusto could finish his sentence Albel smacked the katana (which was sheathed) as hard as he could on the large Smith.

"I'll wear this ridiculous outfit! But no one! And I mean NO ONE touches my hair? GOT IT?" Albel spat, "And if any of you worms even tell anyone about this than I will personally send you a one way ticket to hell!"

Mackwell shrugged, "Well you have my word on that, Sir Nox." Mackwell shook his head, "If you were discovered than I would be too, so..."

"See Albel? It isn't that bad." Gusto laughed heartily as he flexed his massive muscles, "I have done it again! Now this is ART"

"One day I will kill you, worms..." Albel muttered.

"Not until tomorrow." Gusto pointed out as he laughed.

"This stupid leggings make my leg itch!" Albel complained. "And the top is too tight!"

After much commotion and much struggling. They discovered that Albel the Wicked had some trouble getting out of his clothes. Everyone changed out of their outfits, the infiltration was not until tomorrow Night, afterall. Since there was only two closets Lias and Mackwell decided to change in the room. Gusto was sitting in the hallway and the two warriors got a closet each. Nel happily released herself out of the ridiculous outfit and change back into her usual clothes. In the mean time she can hear cursing and swearing from the closet next door. She placed the costume in a bag when she once again noticed Mackwell's clothes in the corner. She stared at them oddly, beautifully decorated and adorned robes with a majestic looking cloak... She reached over feeling the soft silk and velvet at her fingertips.

_**Knock Knock**_

"Yes?" Nel asked almost startled.

"Sorry for the intrusion..." It was Mackwell's voice, "But can you pass me my clothes, Lady Nel? I do believe I left it in the corner..."

"Ah, yes of course... just a minute." Nel replied back. The long boots were difficult to take off. They were high heels and stilletos made of white leather. They hugged against her legs. She began to tug on them but found herself slipping onto the bench-like ledge in the closet. Her upper thigh had a long cut from a sharp hook hanging on the wall. She gave a slight gasp in pain, the blood dripping from the cut. Mackwell, outside heard the commotion from within.

"Is there something the matter, Miss Zelpher?" Mackwell asked.

"No, no... I'm fine..." Nel replied back attempting to stop the blood. She got up and scooped Mackwell's clothes into her arms. She opened the door slightly and quickly handed them over.

"Thank you." Mackwell replied stiffly.

Nel shut the door and began to heal the wound with her runology... It seemed she wasted too much energy from the constant arguing and chasing with Gusto and Albel. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had a decent rest for a while. The Cut stopped bleeding only leaving a long scab on her leg. She carefully covered it under her Knife holsters and long boots. After, She slowly exited the closet and immediately headed for her own room. The first thing she saw was Mackwell looking out at the blizzard veiled window.

"I could hear something..." Mackwell replied.

"What do you mean?" Nel asked.

"I don't really know but I hear her voice..." Mackwell shook his head, "Maybe I'm still tired..."

"Do you need anything?" Nel asked. "Tea, perhaps?"

"No, I'm fine..." Mackwell mumbled he turned toward his own bed as he slipped in. His head was pounding slightly, too much action for one day perhaps. Nel dropped the bag by her bed and she too slipped in her own bed. Mackwell placed all his books, bags and robes on the table beside his bed. Nel merely gazed up at the ceiling...

"Good night." Mackwell replied reaching for the lamp on the table.

"Yeah, good night." Nel nodded curtly.

But before Mackwell shut the lamp off he noticed a blood stain on the boots of her kitty costume. It was sticking out from the bag, when on white leather, blood stains look quite nasty... The Alchemist looked back up to Nel. The Crimson blade turned to her side. Mackwell closed his eyes and with a light tug of the string, the lights snapped off. The room dark, and quiet except for the light breathing of their sleep and the blowing of the cold Airyglyph winds.

_Act II: The Inventor Journal  
_

Ah, the Trading City of Peterny was as busy as always. People bustling about and walking around with not much worries. Mothers walked around the town with their children, Young women were out shopping, Some people were attending the Church of Apris and the Bar was full of Merry Gentlemen. Peterny was always bright and cheery. The war was over now, and peace was something everyone was grateful for. In the midst of this peaceful city of commerce is the Inventor's Guild. And in the Inventor's Guild was a small book on the counter. Those who occasionally passed by the Guild, or want to note something important often wrote their words in this book. Goals, achievements, dreams, yep all of it was listed in the book. Let's take a peek shall we?

**V Day, X Month, XX Year** (yeah, I have no idea what that means either)

"Hmph, It seems Time is slower than usual... Nothing to really report anyway. Ansala, Misty Lear and I have succeeded in making the Philosopher's Stone for Leingod. He sure seems busy, maybe time is against him. Ah well, I finished all my work for today and tomorrow. Always ahead of Time I always say. Now I need to change my plans for more work. What a pain..."

Invention: Philosopher's Stone

-Mackwell, Aquios

"It seems I have been transferred to Airyglyph. What a nice change. Well It's awefully cold here but it doesn't seem that bad. Good thing I dressed myself for Winter, but lately people have been staring at me oddly. Especially the women... it's kind of scary. Now, what was I going to write in this book again...? Oh dear, I just had it in my mind... Just a moment... Ah-hah!"

Invention: Tome of Insight

-Cornelius, Airyglyph

**VI Day, X Month, XX Year**

"Chilico is happy! So much pretty sparkly treasure all around me! Time to go back to work, Everyone is very weird and this city is weird too! How come they like that white stuff in the sky? It's weird! Chilico doesn't like the cold! Chilico Sad!"

Invention: Badge of Reflection

-Chilico, Airyglyph

**VII Day, X Month, XX Year**

"I created another Masterpiece! Lias and I are on a role! With this hammer, and these flames you can bet I'll do my best to be the best! Uh-Oh gotta run! Those weapons won't be making themselves! Oh yeah, Good job Lias for going up another Rank!"

Invention: Claw of Judgment and Cupid's Staff

-Gusto, Airyglyph

**VIII Day, X Month, XX Year**

"My, my Everyone is working so hard. Good luck everybody! And Congratulation Boyd! You're number 1 at the moment!"

-Welch, Inventor's Guild

**X Day, X Month, XX Year**

"Sorry Everybody, I won't be working for a while. My baby brother caught a cold so I have to leave early. Also, Sorry Ansala! I accidentally knocked over another chemical rack! And thank you Miss Lear for that Runology book you lent me! See you guys in a few days! Bye."

Invention: Emerald

- Elieza, Aquios

**XIII Day, X Month, XX Year**

"I'd like to request a transfer please? That annoying old man, Gossam is pestering me during my meals! I can't eat in peace at all, and when I'm angry its not good for digestion or appetite. Aquios would be nice I heard its sunny there. Mmm... Hungry..."

Invention: Super Sweet Curry, Umai-bo 12

-Rigel, Kirlsa (transfers to Aquios 3 days later and switches with Ansala)

**XIV Day, X Month, XX Year**

"Gee... that Killer Chef sure is scary. He chased me with a salt shaker all afternoon. I hope he doesn't plan to cook me..."

Invention: Umai-Bo 6

-Mayu, Aquios

"Chop, Chop, Chop, Cut, Cut, Cut, Peel, Peel, Peel, Slice, Slice, Shake, Shake, Shake, Mix. Mix... Hmm... needs more meat... meat... Nice tender meat... What are **you **looking at, human?"

Invention: Marbled Beef Sirloin

-Killer Chef, Aquios

**XV Day, X Month, XX Year**

"No way! I can't believe you transferred me to Airyglyph! I demand a transfer! I demand a transfer immediately! It's freezing here! So cold... Aw man... Freezing... How can I be the best if I work here?"

Invention: Durian Stun Bomb

-Puffy, Airyglyph

**XVII Day, X Month, XX Year**

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO! There are no women here! Impossible! Where did miss Rigel go? This City is deprived of beautiful women! I'm only stuck with Damda Mooda! I need women! Come back ladies! I want to be pampered!"

Invention: Tears of Ishtar

-Gossam, Kirlsa B

**XVIII, X Month, XX Year**

"Yay! I made my First homonculus! Thank you so much Mr. Mackwell and Miss Lear! You two are the best! Let's work again sometime, ok? Also, did you guys noticed that the weather has been kind of mucky lately...?"

Invention: Wind Homunculus

-Elieza, Aquios

**XIX Day, X Month, XX Year**

"We've done it! Vanilla and I have been working on Super Bomb project for 2 weeks now and we've finally done it! I can't wait to test this baby out... Oh Crap. What the heck was that sound? The Workshop? Uh-oh..."

Invention: Mega-Flare Bomb, Deadly Mind Bomb

-Meryl, Peterny

**XX Day, X Month, XX Year**

"We are sorry for the inconvenience but the Peterny Workshop is closed for further repairs. An Accident has occured, therefore, All Peterny Workers will have to wait till further notice. Take a vacation folks!"

-Welch

"Sorry, but I'll be absent for a while... Expect me back in a few days."

-Mackwell, Aquios

**XXI Day, X Month, XX Year**

"You guys do not want to work here in Airyglyph. A Blizzard has been rolling in... Some very peculiar things have been happening. I should make a poem out of this! The White snow is so pure, yet very harsh. Of the Four Weather lords Winter can be the cruelest but the most beautiful."

-Cornelius, Airyglyph

"Weird! So many Weird people! Puffy has gone CRAZY! Atleast we'll be crazy together! Chilico happy, but confused..."

Invention: Demonbane Cross

-Chilico, Airyglyph

"It's SO COLD! I can't stand it! Someone hurry up and save us already! No food, Cursed, Lack of heat! I'm going to... I'm going to... **(This has been omitted for the sake of your safety, we apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.)** I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE! And what's worse? I'm stuck with Fayt! Just you wait Fayt Leingod... your time is slim... hehe... Revenge will be mine..."

Invention: Liquid Hybrid Bomb, Liquid Mind Bomb, Liquid Flare Bomb

-Puffy, Airyglyph

** XXIV Day, X Month, XX Year**

"Sorry for my Absent. Ahhh, I'm so happy. I managed to create something quite lovely, very lovely for the sake of my precious daughter. It received such a decent rating! At this rate my daughter and I will be back on track and one day we will live a life of luxury, just the two of us. I pray Apris will bring that day sooner!"

Invention: Bladebane Cross, Silver Cross

-Evia, Peterny

**XXVII Day, X Month, XX Year **

"Guess what? Guess what? Vanilla and I have done it again! Revolutionary breakthrough I do believe we got it, It's really exciting you know? Well, it's kind of sad at the same time. I'm heading back to Greeton for a few days to visit my old man. Good thing Vanilla and I tested that New explosive. We shall call it, Super Bomber 3000! Don't worry, we didn't blow up the Workshop again! By the Way, what happened to those two guys... Umm... Errmm... Wasn't the big one named Gusto? And the other Lias? They've been gone for a while now. Don't tell me they got transferred! Everything keeps changing around here."

Invention: Es Hybrid Device

-Meryl, Peterny

"Oh dear... I hope Mr. Mackwell and Miss Lear are alright."

-Elieza, Aquios

_Act III: The Night Plan_

Mackwell got up from bed. It was still probably around Midnight... He couldn't help but gaze out the window. Misty Lear was close. He hoped that maybe he could sneak the ticket out and rescue her himself, but he knew better. It was dangerous and even though he may be a loner doesn't mean he was stupid enough to attempt something so dangerous. He gave a small sigh, his light breath left a misty fog on the window glass. His hand over his messy silver hair. Suddenly, from the darkness he heard a small gasp. Mackwell turned around curiously. It was Nel...

"..." Mackwell walked up to her bed. Nel seemed to be having a mild nightmare. Her face was quite flushed but he could guess that her dream wasn't that painful or terrifying. Mackwell was then reminded of her injury. He carefully pulled the covers off and spotted the Long, deep cut on her leg. It looked rather painful. When he touched it slightly Nel turned away.

"No... don't..." Nel murmured in her sleep.

"Don't be ridiculous..." Mackwell carefull lifted her leg and pulled the holster off. The Leg was still quite bloody... "If you don't clean it properly, it will get infected..."

Mackwell pulled out a vial of medicine and carefully applied it to the cut. The Liquid was cold and transparent like water. It was strong stuff, but the medicine should clean the wound. Nel gave a small moan in her sleep, Mackwell firmly held her down. _It burns and stings... I know... Just hold on..._ The Alchemist applied some white chemical to numb the pain. Finally, he carefully placed his hand over the wound, the fingertips were warm as it slowly closed up the wound. His Runology was top notch after all. A simple healing spell began to restore the wound. In a matter of seconds the wound was gone.

Mackwell sighed, He placed the covers back on top of her and walked back over to the window sill. He gave a small chuckle...

"Learn to take care of yourself..." Mackwell replied placing his hand over his forehead. Drearily he walked over to his own bed and attempted to sleep. So many thoughts in his head, so many concerns. Not enough time. Mackwell was always deligent, always one step ahead of all circumstances, always busy. But now look at him, completely lost and delayed... it was an odd feeling. The Clock ticked by as he waited for morning... eventually falling into a restless sleep.

Next Scene>

The Next day was quite busy. Nobles have been flocking to the inn that day. Albel scowled at these rich snobs with their 'fancy reservations' and conceited attitudes.Wealth they did not deserve, luxury that was given to these abnoxious fools. They made sure to leave the inn early that morning. The group split up after that, each tailing a Noble to gather as much information they could. Mackwell was given the job to find the location of this bar. He found it alright, it was in an once abandoned building on the outskirts of the kingdom. It was near the Aqueducts...

It sure was suspicious... There was a tower of sorts and the place was guarded... Time was slowly ticking... the Grand opening was to start at 7:00... In Costume, Our group of "heroes" waited by the alley. It was cold, the blizzard stopped. Now only a gentle drift of snow descended from the heavens. The Night was beginning to descend upon them. It was still cold and Albel Nox had his share of swears.

"Ok... this is the plan." Gusto began, "We'll enter the Bar in disguise. All of us will attempt to distract the Nobles and when everyone's not looking we'll slip in this sleeping solution in their drinks. And there you have it!"

"Who has the sleeping solution?" Nel asked.

"I have one." Gusto pulled one out of his belt, "And Mackwell's got an extra."

"What happens if it doesn't work, maggot?" Albel asked slightly intrigued, "Do we have permission to slaughter the lot?"

"No Albel," Nel replied defiantly, "We can merely take them out."

"Hmph, not like they deserve to live..." Albel muttered.

"If worse comes to worse, I have penty of Stun solution to aid us..." Mackwell replied. "While you guys cause a distraction I'll find Misty Lear and Miss Stanice..."

"Okay... so we got the plan straight. Can we go in now?" Albel asked.

"I didn't know you were so eager to show off your new dress, Albel." Nel giggled.

"You fool! The sooner we get this over with the better!" Albel yelled. "Unless you haven't noticed I'm freezing out here!"

"Ok, ok..." Gusto replied, "Let's go... right about..."

They could hear laughing in the bar. The Nobles entered one by one... from the looks of it there must have been atleast 10. Figures... there weren't many nobles anymore. The War was over so they couldn't achieve easy cash like they use to. Most of which were wealthy aristocrats and greedy landowners... The Group peered over at the Guard. He was a big man, slightly smaller than Gusto. But unlike Gusto, this man was mean and harsh looking. They all took a deep breath and Gusto pulled out the ticket from his pocket. The group uneasily made their way towards the entrance.

"Halt." the Guard replied. "Invitations?"

"Here ya go." Gusto handed the small flashy looking ticket. "Sorry we're late, hope the party didn't start without us."

"There's only one ticket." The Guard eyed them suspiciously, "And there are 4 of you."

"Err...well..." Gusto began to think furiously, "I was... I mean..."

Albel sharply elbowed Gusto in the gut. "Get to it, maggot!" Albel hissed.

"You see, the old driver had to call in sick, you see? So I brought in this group of fine women to take their place!" Gusto replied enthusiastically, with a nervous smile. "Isn't that right ladies?"

"That's right!" They all replied in the most girly voices possible.

Now what was running through our heroes minds? Well it kind of went like this... Albel was thinking, '_Oh my god, my voice hurts like hell from this stupid high pitched tone... It's freaking freezing out here! I can't wait to beat them to a bloody pulp'_ Nel was more of the lines of, '_Anyone touches me in their they'll lose something VERY precious._' Mackwell was thinking, '_Just let us in, you uneducated fool! Time is of the essence!_' and finally Lias was too well... he was speechless.

"See?" Gusto gave a broad smile.

"Well, we are short on women for today's..." The man began to eye each of the women carefully. Thank god they had make up and actually looked like women... Oh yeah, you guys must be wondering about their more feminine features. All of them had to wear a bra (except maybe Nel, hers was practically one). This came as quite the surprise since Men don't wear them. Not only was it uncomfortable but slightly itchy too. To make them look somewhat realistic they had to stuff cotton in it and some extra stuff to make it feel and look somewhat authentic. It felt _really _weird.

"Alright, alright..." The Guard replied. "They are real lookers! We'll let these fine ladies in." The man slapped, to his dismay, Albel in the rear and laughed. Albel squinted, his eyes twitching in anger.

_I am SO going to kill him_... Albel thought. _He is SO dead! _

"Welcome to the club." The guard opened the door for them, "See you ladies later."

The group wordlessly entered the bar. Flashy lights enveloped them as they entered the... err... (Albel: Whore house) Yeah, and each of them had different thoughts running through their minds. But what they saw, not only was shocking but somewhat horrifying... They just leaped from the Frying pan and into the Fire.

* * *

Oof... Sorry I couldn't update sooner. So much interference...

Was gone for most of the Weekend. Also, I typed out the whole first Act only to find it get deleted because teh server crashed! Oh My god how annoying can it get! Anyway I leave you with yet another CLiff Hanger.

:3 You guys must hate me SO much. Sorry XD

* * *


	9. Masquerade II Undercover

_Chapter IX: Undercover_

Author's Note: Yay! people actually like this story. I'm so happy! (Runs around the room like a maniac) Wheee! (Runs straight into a wall) OOF! Argh... nose bleeding.

_

* * *

_

_Act I: Insanity beyond measures_

_Victory For Puffy!_

"Sucks for you." Puffy snickered, "You got 13 years of misfortune ahead of you, fool!"

"You believe in superstitions, Puffy?" Cornelius asked.

"After what happened to us? How can I not?" Puffy groaned. Her stomach began to growl... "So hungry... Lack of energy..."

"Yeah... we haven't eaten in a while, huh?" Cornelius patted Puffy in the back, "This curse is just brutal..."

"I am not cursed!" Fayt yelled, "Don't be ridiculous, Curses aren't real."

"YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLY RIDICULOUS!" Puffy yelled, "Just ONCE! Just once I want to hear you say, 'Oh no, I'm cursed!' or 'We're DOOMED! DOOMED!' and maybe even, 'Spare me God, I'm CURSED!"

"Why would I say that?" Fayt asked.

"Over confident aren't ya?" Puffy released all her energy, she was now deflated on the table. "Doomed and hungry... ugh... One day Leingod... One day..."

"Everything is perfectly fine." Fayt replied, "Jeez, Puffy what's wrong with you? I never seen you so bent outta shape."

"Cursed, doomed, hungry... yeah..." Puffy moaned, "How more hopeless can it get?"

"We become Crazy!" Chilico replied happily.

"Cornelius..." Puffy sighed, her head on the table. "I don't know how long I'll last... but..."

"Yes, Puffy?" Cornelius asked.

"Before I die... make sure I eat Fayt, first." Puffy sighed, "Then I'll leave this world happy and fulfilled."

Cornelius gave a nervous smile, "Umm... sure I guess?"

Fayt was shocked. "WHAT? You'll actually let her EAT me?"

"I don't see what the problem is..." Puffy replied, "You don't seem to be useful at all. This is revenge! REVENGE!"

"How could you say that?" Fayt gasped. "Sure I made a little mistake..."

"LITTLE MISTAKE?" Noppin jumped. The whole time he's been scribbling furiously on paper. In his clenched hands was a piece of parchment, his written note and final will. Count Noppin's face was stricken with anger and restlessness. "We Blame you, Leingod! You have caused us nothing but misfortune! Will you take our deaths accountable?"

"Hey wait, We're not dead yet! And Also How is it MY Fault?" Fayt snapped back.

"You almost destroyed our workshop, you read from a cursed book, broke a very expensive mirror and now we're going to freeze, starve and die from boredom." Puffy answered.

"So what are we going to do?" Chilico asked. "Will we wait till someone saves us...? Or will we starve to death first?"

"Shhh... don't rush a genius." Puffy began drill her head with as much brain power as possible.

"Maybe Puffy would like my good luck Fol?" Chilico asked holding up the single sparkling Gold Fol in her hands. "It helps Chilico all the time!"

"Good luck?" Puffy took the small gold fol in her hand. _Good luck... Bad Luck..._ Puffy slammed her hands on the table. "I GOT IT!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Puffy. They all stared at the small girl began to laugh maniacally. Yep... Puffy's lost it. Insanity is rare at her age as well... oh well... All Genius' are Insane in their own right I suppose. But here she was, laughing as her inspiration and motivation began to take over. The First thing everyone learned about Young Puffy,_ never... and I mean NEVER underestimate her_. The girl is stricken with revenge and ambition!

"Are you ok, Puffy?" Chilico asked the Crazed Inventor.

"ME? OK? HAHAHAHA!" Puffy Laughed, "Of course I'm not OK! I'm STARVING!"

"Maybe giving her the lucky Fol was a bad idea." Cornelius whispered to the tiny pixie.

"So what's your idea?" Chilico asked Puffy excitedly.

"Why we break outta here of course!" Puffy yelled in triumph, "Curse or No Curse I shall prevail!"

"Dang," Chilico snapped her small fingers, "I was hoping you'd explode Fayt and use him to blow the ice away..."

"How do you plan on that?" Fayt asked, "I already tried Explosion..."

Puffy walked over to the Corner of the room. This Corner was where most of the Smithing takes place. She grabbed a large hammer that belonged to Grats. "Let me borrow this, thanks gramps." She held it up to the Sharp, Jagged Ice that blocked the Door. Everyone stared in wonder as the small girl began to smash away the Ice prison. The Loud banging caused the room to shake but surely enough, the Ice was giving away.

"I WILL NOT STAY HERE!" Puffy yelled, "I REFUSE TO GET OLD AND SENILE WITH THESE PEOPLE!"

"Don't forget Crazy!" Chilico added.

"NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!" Puffy smashed away the Ice. "I WANT TO LIVE! I WANT A FUTURE! I WANT FOOD!"

"Shouldn't someone hold her back?" Cornelius suggested.

"Nah, Puffy is good..." Chilico giggled.

"But what if she gets hurt?" Cornelius asked.

"Nah, if we go near her, we get hurt." Chilico replied.

"Do you actually think she'll get us out of here? What if she fails?"

"Then..." Chilico gave a cute smile, "we All die together!"

"I SHALL LIVE! I'LL SHOW THAT ACCURSED LEINGOD! MWAHAHA!"

"What the heck did I do to you?" Fayt asked.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE CURSED!" Puffy roared as she swung the hammer with all her might, "I WANT TO LIVE!"

In a matter of minutes The Ice was cleared away. Puffy clenching the massive hammer in her hands breathed heavily, here eyes still filled with fury. The Other Inventors were frozen at the sight... looks like when Puffy is angry, hungry and homocidal she can do _anything_. Yep... she can even swing a massive hammer and break through 4-feet-thick walls of Ice. Puffy was still standing by the doorway, her breath still heavy. She dropped the hammer and began to kiss the outside world! The Cold wind on her face, the Grey Clouds and the glimpse of the blue sky beyond it. She kissed the snow on the floor and before anyone could stop her she ran through the blizzard and toward the closest Grocery store.

"Freedom!" Puffy yelled.

"She actually did it..." Fayt opened his mouth in disbelief.

"Hmm... That girl is full of surprises." Cornelius replied walking out the door, his tattered umbrella in hand.

"You hungry, Cornelius?" Chilico asked on the strange man's shoulder.

"Why actually I am, shall we go for some dinner?" Cornelius asked.

"Ok!" Chilico jumped happily, "Chilico wants Warm stew! Chilico loves food!"

"Very well." Cornelius opened his tattered, black and old umbrella. "One question,"

"What is it?" Chilico asked.

"Where are we again?" Cornelius asked.

Puffy left to get some food, as did Cornelius and Chilico. Grats dragged the frozen Dejison out of the workshop and left for home. Fayt was still pondering the reasons why Puffy could break the ice but he couldn't. He walked out of the door, due to the fact that he broke a very large mirror, he bumped into a few lamp posts in the streets as well as tripped in the cold slush. 13 Years of bad luck... yep, this kid was doomed. When he arrived back at the inn he was shivering and paranoid. Noppin and Osman were the only two remaining. They stared as everyone left the room. Noppin gave a reluctant sigh.

"Well... I suppose the first step to being a genius is insanity..."

* * *

And Ladies and gentleman that is the story of the little girl, Puffy who manages to keep her sanity and save the Inventor's. So what's the moral of today's story...? 

"Everything will turn out ok?" -Fayt

"People are weird...!" -Chilico

(Hits Fayt with a hammer) "PUFFY IS NUMBER ONE!" -Puffy

Well let's see... (Psychodog pulls out an envelope) "Today's Moral is..."

"... Never wear Gusto's socks..." Psychodog stares at the small paper...

"What? Gusto?" Puffy jumped up, "Not fair! He didn't even come out in this Act!"

"Well, that's all for today! Have fun with the rest of the play!" Psychodog closes the curtain.

"HEY WAIT! YOU COME BACK HERE!" Puffy yelled tackling Psychodog to the ground.

"Oof!"

**Beep... **

**Beep... **

**This Scene has been omitted for your safety, while your here please donate to Puffy's 'Be the best Inventor and take over the world' Foundation. Thank you for your cooperation and we are sorry for the inconvenience.**

Psychodog: "Help... Help..." (crawls away)

Puffy: "OH NO YOU DON'T! GET BACK HERE!" (Drags Psychodog by the legs)

Psychodog: "AGH! **NOOOOOO**!"

_Act II: The Masquerade_

"Well what are you waiting for?" The guard asked. "Get yer cute little asses in there already."

Oh yes, our group of heroes wished it was _that _easy... The room smelled heavy of tobacco and booze. Actually, heavy was an understatement. The room _reaked _of Booze and Tobacco. Surrounding the large, brightly lit room was a large number of men. 10 nobles? It looked more like 20 or 30 of them. All drunk and waiting for their prizes. It seemed the night's plan for these gentlemen were get drunk and crazy, and then go for the women... Mackwell's eyes twitched. Not only were these men drunk but they smelled terrible too... he could smell the disgusting stench from his location. Everyone was petrified... Nel's kitty ears drooped as her jaw dropped. Lias looked as if he would faint any second and Albel was downright pissed. Not only were the men worthless maggots but he was DRESSED as a WOMAN! Their feet rooted on the ground and their eyes bugging out in horror, there was little to be said.

"Don't play easy to get cutie," The guard said playfully at Albel. Albel squinted slightly at the man's remark. "I want you tonight."

"And do _what_?" Albel hissed in a low tone.

"We'll have plenty of fun!" The Guard slapped Albel's rear once more. Albel's patience was waning as he felt the hand hit his ass. Albel began to twitch. Nobody touches him and gets away with it!

"Please... refrain yourself from touching me." Albel replied twitching in anger.

"You gotta lighten up, Honey-doll!" The Guard laughed, "Come on, honey! Let's have fun later!"

"Fun...? _Fun when I cut you into ribbons, maggot_." Albel hissed lowly. It was barely audible.

"What was that?" The guard asked. Nel sharply elbowed Albel in the stomach. He only scowled.

"I mean... hehe, Oh I'm so nervous!" Albel rephrased in a high pitched femanine voice. "I'm really really scared!"

They all stared at Albel. Albel, the wicked in a high pitched girly voice not only SOUNDED wrong but it made them feel awkward standing next to him. The guard hardly noticed anything at all.

"Don't worry so much, Honey." The guard winked. "Now go have fun, and we'll be seeing each other tonight!"

"Heheh..." Albel couldnt take it anymore. "Just you watch worm... We'll be seeing each other tonight, alright..." He whispered under his breath. "I swear it'll be your last, worm..."

The group nervously entered the Bar, each felt rather uneasy. It was bad enough that they were crossdressing, but the feeling of OTHER men eyeing them lustfully was not only sickening but down-right wrong. Albel felt a cold chill and goosebumps erupting from his skin... it was painfully sickening.

"Lookit all the new hotties!" One drunkard laughed, "Come on over Ladies and I'll buy you a niceee cold Drink!"

"Oooh, those're some nice dolls! come sit here, honeys!" Another man hooted.

"Err... You can go first Albel- I mean... _Albelita_.." Nel pushed Albel forward. Albel gave a scornful glare at the crimson blade. She snickered calling him a ridiculous name like Albelita. If it wasn't for their awkward position and state of mind, Albel would have decapitated her in a second.

"Oh please, Zelpher..." Albel replied. "I _insist_."

Nel glared at him darkly. "Oh, but _Albelita_! You're SO much more prettier than I am!" Nel replied with a girly tone.

"HA HA HA!" Gusto laughed, "Don't y'all worry gentlemen, there's plenty of em to go around!"

The others glared at Gusto. _Don't make it worse, fool!_ They all seemed to have said simultaneously. Gusto grabbed Lias and they both sat on one of the couches, It looked odd. Lias 'pretending' to be Gusto's girl. In reality, Gusto was whispering instructions in Lias' ear. Mackwell gripping the sleep vial in his hand tightly headed for the counter of the Bar. Albel and Nel uneasily made their way towards the disgusting drunkards. Nel was extremely stiff as she slowly sat herself next to a drooling old man, she had the urge to just pull out her daggers and stab the man in the face, but her self control was extraudinary. Albel was even more humiliated. He sat_ in between_ two muscular and very large drunkards, they were laughing heartilly and to his dismay were hitting on him.

"Hey there, sweets!" A big man replied, "How 'bout you and me get to know each other, eh?"

"N-no... t-thank you..." Albel replied twitching in anger.

"Move it, Basil! This chick's mine!" The other man yelled shoving Basil out of the way. "Hey, there miss, name's Reamus, how 'bout you become my girl?"

"N-no... thank you..." Albel repeated twitching violently.

"Hey wench, you might be hardbodied but man, You're HOT!" Basil hooted slapping him in the rear.

"Hehe... that's what they say." Albel replied nervously.

"Yeah outta the group, this one's my type of woman!" Reamus pulled Albel close, his arms around his shoulders. "So what's your name hot stuff?"

"Uhhh...errr..." Albel looked around.

"Her name's Albelita." Nel snickered. "Albelita, don't be shy!"

(I'm going to kill you, Zelpher) Albel hissed, "Hehe, I'm sorry Nella, I'm just so scared!" Once again in his highpitched tone.

(Nella?) Nel asked, (What the hell kind of name is that?)

Albel snickered, (That's what you get!)

(Well atleast you don't have a drooling old man on you!) Nel whispered, she shoved the drooling drunkard off her knee. His saliva and drool leaking on her. (What's taking mackwell so long?)

(Well that worm better get moving or else I'll kill him!) "My name is Albelita, nice to meet you." Albel replied all girly and shy like.

"_Albelita_?" Reamus paused, "What kind of name is _Albelita_?"

"She's a foreigner..." Nel coughed, "From Greeton."

"Ooh, an exotic one!" Reamus laughed, "I like foreigner's, so honey how about you give me your home address?"

"Well, actually..." Albel jumped away from Basil who was pulling on his skirt's laces. He was also grabbed for his legs, Albel inched closer to Nel. Nel, who didn't like Albel's rear in her face shoved him forward. Another drunkard also pulled on Nel's tail making her jump up as well. All the men began to drool inching towards Zelpher and Nox. Albel had the urge to scream out that he was a man, but it was of no avail.

"By the way, Reamus." Basil pointed out. "Didn't the Don like exotic women?"

Gusto, Lias, Albel and Nel fixed their attention on Basil and Reamus. Exotic? Don? The only type of woman that fit that description was none other than Misty Lear. Albel squinted, he knew he had to milk more information from these buffoons. Then maybe, Mackwell would move a little faster!

"Yeah, now that you mention it I think he does." Reamus replied. "The guy's a greedy pig If I ever saw one."

(They're all greedy pigs to me) Nel whispered to Albel.

(Greedy, Smelly, Useless, Disgusting, Worms!) Albel corrected her.

(For once, Nox, I couldn't agree with you more.) Nel whispered.

"Man, I feel sorry for the woman he's with." Reamus sighed, "Give him 10 minutes and the poor wench is no longer fresh. Damaged goods."

"Damaged Goods?" Gusto asked. He and Lias were slowly drawn into the conversation.

"What kind of exotic girls?" Albel asked, "Can you tell me, please?"

"Err...well... I'm not quite sure now that I think about it." Reamus replied. "Maybe the guard knows, he's with the Don all the time."

"Oh really?" Albel replied with an evil grin. "Hehe, well I guess I'll have to go ask him." Albel got up and headed for the door. Nel only stared at him oddly. (What are you doing?) She whispered. (Killing two birds with one stone, what does it look like, fool?) And without a moment's hesitation Albel disappeared outside. there was a moment's silence as Albel asked him some questions. And then a low thud came from outside. Albel conveniently kicked him where it hurt, right in the bulls-eye since using his sword might get messy. The guard groaned in pain as this 'woman' kicked him again and again. Albel was merciless and after the 30th or so kick, The man was unconscious for good. _Albelita _returned in the bar with a triumphant smile. No wonder his name was _Albel the Wicked_...

Meanwhile, Mackwell quickly and quietly slipped the Sleeping solution into a large barrel of beer when the Bartender wasn't looking. Once they took a sip outta this, they won't be awake untill next Week. Giving the signal, Mackwell sat on the other side of Gusto. Two other men were hitting on him, but being the strict refrained man he was, Mackwell made sure to be the 'cold' one. This only made the men want him more and more.

"Ok, gentleman! How about as a gift from me, Everyone gets free booze on the house?" Gusto paid the bartender and grabbed the barrel of beer. "Let's not be shy gentlemen, there's plenty to go around! We're all friends here!"

All the men cheered as they got refills in their large mugs.

"HOORAH!" They all cheered, "Bottoms UP!"

And simultaneously they all chugged down the strong Alcohol. Our group of Crossdressers stared wide-eyed at the drunkards... Eagerly watching for the Grand Finale.

_Act III: Attack of the Mad Drunkards_

Our heroes stared as the Drunken Nobles chugged down the drugged Booze. Any Second now, they would all collapse unconscious... Any Second now, Misty Lear and Miss Stanice would be safe from danger... Any Second now, our heroes would FINALLY STOP BEING DRAG QUEENS! Or MEN IN DRAG! Any Second now..._ Unfortunately that second never came._ Reamus blinked as he finished the Booze... he dropped the cup on the ground and gave a loud wet burp. They all squinted in disgust. With his large arms he wiped the Beer and saliva from his mouth.

"So... feeling sleepy?" Gusto asked.

"Not really." Reamus replied, "Why'd you ask?"

"Just wondering..." Gusto replied back.

"Aren't they supposed to drop dead? And fall asleep?" Albel asked angrily at Mackwell.

"Yes, they are... but... I don't understand!" Mackwell began to think, "That was my strongest sleep solution. They should have dropped on the floor the moment the chemicals went down their throats!"

"So what's our plan B?" Nel asked.

"We haven't thought of one." Mackwell replied.

"Hey wait..." Gusto paused, "Which barrel did you put the solution in?"

"The red one of course..." Mackwell replied. "The one next to the counter."

"Hehe, is that so?" Gusto asked laughing nervously, "Well maybe there was something in the booze that, you know? Countered the sleep solution-a-thingy." Gusto nervously hid the Red barrel behind the counter so no one saw his mistake.

"That's impossible." Mackwell snapped, "It was a perfect solution!"

"Enough chit-chat!" Albel hissed, "_Now what do we do_?"

"Hey ladies! Let's have some fun now!" Reamus laughed, "Come on, honey! You're mine! (hiccup)" Reamus grabbed for Albel's skirt. Albel quickly dodged aside. This was bad, they were even more drunk than before!

"Come here, Sweet cheeks!" Basil laughed running for Mackwell. Mackwell slipped past him and sticking his leg out, tripped the large man over the Counter.

"Looks like we're stuck..." Nel whispered to herself.

The 30 or so men surrounded them inching closer. They had little option left open for them. Nel grabbed the Daggers out of their holsters and aimed them threateningly at the men. Albel ripped the ridiculous looking dress off of him and grabbed his Katana from its sheathe.

"What the-? You're a MAN?" Reamus asked.

"Sorry to interrupt in your ridiculous wet dreams, fool!" Albel replied.

"Aww man, And I thought I was in love!" Reamus' face grew red and angry, Nothing is worse than a violent drunk. "Stupid wench (hiccup) I'll show you your place!"

Obviously this hit a nerve for Albel Nox. Albel Nox began to chuckle to himself. The Swordsman sounded more like a madman then a Captain of the Black Brigade. "Wench am I...? You fool...I AM NOT A WENCH!" Albel roared, "Die, Worm!" Without a moment's hesitation Albel jumped in and began to slash his way through the wave of drunken men.

"Albel- wait! What about plan B?" Nel asked.

"SCREW PLAN B! SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!" Albel roared.

Nel shrugged, "Works for me."

"Looks like our cover's blown." Mackwell sighed as he ripped off his own dress. "You guys think you can handle this?"

"Oh, of course." Gusto smiled, He pushed Mackwell to the hallway, "Now run along and play Hero Mackwell, your girl is waiting."

"Don't you need help...?" Mackwell asked.

"Nah we can handle it." Gusto smiled as he pulled out his massive hammer and tapped it on his hand. "I was getting bored, anyway. What about you Lias?"

"You don't know how happy... I am..." Lias replied pulling the Priestess gown off, revealing his regular robe underneath. "So happy to finally get out of that skirt." From behind him he pulled out his own massive Hammer that was twice his size, "Well, Gusto how should we do this?" Lias asked with a gentle smile.

"Oh, please..." Gusto smiled, "After you, my dear friend."

"Please, I must insist. Gusto my dear friend." Lias replied.

Without a moment's hesitation the Drunken fight became an all out brawl. Lias spinning the hammer over his head and didn't hesitate twice to smash it on a Drunk Noble's head. It was scary... watching the Skinny and Shy Lias smashing a massive hammer at his enemies who were also twice his size. Gusto too, was joining the fray. Nel and Albel began to dispatch their own group of enemies. Albel Nox seemed to be enjoying it a little TOO much. Revenge is sweet, afterall. (But fruit helps you poop!)

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME, WORMS?" Albel yelled, "You will not be forgiven!" The Drunks sloppily piled themselves on top of the skinny swordsman but Albel, with his flames of fury, Pushed them aside. "Did you enjoy touching my ass, fools? HUH? DID YOU? WELL? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Albel began to smack them with his blade, "I'll beat you, senseless! Touch my ass again, and I'll make sure to KICK YOURS!"

"DOUBLE SLASH! HAND OF DOOM! DOUBLE SLASH!" Albel showed them NO mercy. Poor Drunk dudes... er... I take that back.

**_Pyschodog_: (cough) Yes, it seems that Albel has lost his mind... but then again if you were touched... or in this case slapped in the ass by disgusting drunken old men (Like three times!), I guess you'll be angry too! Especially if you're really a... (twitch) man... **

In a matter of mere moments. And after many swings of hammers and swords the room began to calm down. The Four of them stood triumphantly as they stared in wonder at the sea of unconscious drunks all around them. There was some moans and groans of pain but that was quickly silenced by _Albel the Wicked_ who smacked them in the rear with his own blade. He was having so much fun, It was kind of like playing monopoly. If they do something bad like...say... sent you to jail! Then you want to pay back double! Revenge games were so much fun. Albel began to laugh to himself, cruelly.

Nel sighed in relief as she changed out of the ridiculous Kitty costume. Mission _successful_...Gusto gave a hearty laugh as he grabbed a barrel of beer and poured himself a cup.

"Victory!" Gusto laughed, he swallowed one gulp of the beer and within a second he collapsed on the floor, asleep.

"The fool..." Albel spat, "He drank from the red barrel."

"Let him sleep." Nel smiled, "It'll do us all a favor."

Gusto with a big smile on his face snored away his troubles. Today was a rough day, funny but very rough. Gusto deserved a nice sleep.

_To be Continued_

* * *

Ooh, I'm so late! Anyway, I hope its still good and OMG I just realized that I haven't updated in one HELL of a Long time. Hopefully all of you who watched Full Metal Alchemist know by now that Greed died? Old news, I knew that a long time ago since I have the Fansubs and downloaded it like 2 years ago. 

Well I recently read about Greed's death in manga and I started Crying like crazy (moreso than the time i cried in the anime) Because it's like 10x worse. Greed is my fav. character as well as Scar and like... yeah... I'm devastated. The manga is that Sad... I have like hardly any motivation now. GREEEED! NOOOOOO

This Fanfic will probably end in the next Chapter. Thanks everyone for enjoying it. It means alot. Hopefully I'll get my motivation back as well.

_Once again, Sorry... _

_For being Late and making an incredibly crappy chapter._

_Psychodog Apologizes with all her heart._


	10. You and I

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

**_Chapter X: You and I_**

_Author's note: Oh! Talk about a long wait! Sorry ladies and gents, I was extremely busy lately. Hopefully you people won't kill me too badly. (Please Spare my Life! I beg of you!)_

_Mackwell: She's lying... She wanted all of you to suffer and make the ending more dramatic... Everyone should throw bricks at her...  
_

_Psychodog: I DID NOT! Mackwell, who's side are you on?_

_Mackwell: Well... You did neglect us for weeks on end. (sigh) Everyone is waiting for the ending, you know...  
_

_Psychodog: Wha-? No-! It was-!_

_All Inventors: "LIAR!" _

_Psychodog: (cries) Wahhhh! _

_

* * *

**Act I: Looking for you**_

Funny thing about hallways... they are usually long corridors with rooms and adjacent passages. Normally, one doesn't get lost in a hallway... but this wasn't the same situation. The hallways present in this place were all dark. Nothing but strange green lanterns that were placed on the walls, casting eerie shadows in the dark hallways. They twisted and turned, many dead ends and confusing tunnels were also connected to this strange hallway. Mackwell walked cautiously in the hall, his back close to the wall as he slowly made his way. It was a strange predicament, and a strange environment but the alchemist held his ground. Between his fingers were a number of vials... poison, acid, explosive dust, and stun solution. The alchemist was ready for any situation.

Everything was silent. The only sound was Mackwell's calm and barely audible breath. It was cold. The hallway wasn't heated, a white cloud of vapors appeared everytime the Alchemist would exhale. His arm began to shake, his skin felt uneasy pricks from the cold. Airyglyph winters were harsh. Swiftly and silently Mackwell sneaked through the halls. He passed numerous passage ways but none were useful. He calculated the situation, some rooms had very little signs of entrance... If 30 or more women were being held hostage, the floor which was composed of soft mortar would be disturbed.

"So many false entries... So little time..." Mackwell muttered to himself, "Lear... wait just a little while longer..."

Mackwell had the feeling that this was no ordinary...(Albel: Whore house). Mackwell gave a nervous smile, _For some reason... I could never say that word. _Mackwell was too refined, too polite and lived in solitude for way too long. No tavern is this large... this he knew as a fact. They were obviously hiding something. The Alchemist stopped... the trail of footsteps seemed to have disappeared at this point. A nearby window was open, the snow covering the soft mortar tracks. He looked around, the hallway split into three corridors... His probability of picking the right door? Only 33.3 percent... The odds were against him.

The Window let in an icy cold breeze. The Alchemist, obviously not very fond of the cold shut the small passage. Made of clear transparent glass, the frozen ice gleamed like tiny diamonds. But through the Icy flurry outside he could see a glimps of an old tower in the distance... Mackwell paused.

"A tower...?" The Alchemist wiped the misty glass with his hand.

The Tower was connected to this facility, but the three entrances before him revealed little about that tower. They were false, fake... Mackwell chuckled to himself. "Child's play..."

This alchemist has already read his share of books. From historical documents, to mystery books, this man had read them all. With a quick flash with his finger he tossed a small vial on to the floor. Blowing the soft ground away revealed something of interest.

"A trapdoor..."

Normally, Mackwell would show a sign of shock or excitement... this wasn't the case. After seeing drunk men hitting on him, dressing as a female, following a neverending hallway, and looking for Misty Lear, nothing seemed to surprise him anymore. Mackwell lifted the heavy door and slipped in, the foul and musty odor of unknown origin was present. The darkness enveloped around him, surrounding him. The scent was a mixture of acohol, rodents and the smell of rotting flesh... It was such a tense and dark atmosphere. It began to send a chill up his spine... this was no time to lose his cool... though the smell of the place sure wasn't encouraging.

"Ugh..." Mackwell covered his nose with the sleeve of his robes. "What a vile scent..." Mackwell could guess up almost a dozen different things that could make such a horrid odor. None were very pleasant... it was a mixture of bile, waste and burnt sulfur... also a bitter kick of wine... With his face covered, Mackwell quickly ran down the stone steps, passed the next corridor. A hot jet of steam hit him from below, the room was warm and moist. It was obvious that such a dark, damp and warm environment, who knows what grows down here.

Covering his eyes, Mackwell passed through the steam... he gagged, and coughed, his eyes burning. Suddenly something cold came in contact with his neck... the end of a long blade.

"Pretty daring to come all the way down here..." The voice replied in an icy tone.

"Your absolutely right." Mackwell replied with a weak smile. "Though normally, doing all of this goes against my very nature..."

"It would be wise if you leave." The voice insisted.

"No..." Mackwell answered.

"..." The owner of the voice remained silent. Obviously waiting for an answer.

"Are you going to stand in my way?" Mackwell coughed, "I'm looking for someone, and if you interfere, I won't show any mercy." Mackwell's fingers gripped the vials of various chemicals... this man was obviously an enemy. The man was suited in armor, it had no insignia on it. Deffinitely not from any of Airyglyph's various brigades. But either way, his face was covered in a silver helm, covering his face and eyes. Mackwell's eyes trailed down to the ground below... 3 Other soldiers were knocked unconscious.

"Don't worry. Once I heard the commotion, I took these three out." the man replied. "As you can see, It is easily handled."

"I see..." Mackwell answered.

"Are you here to rescue her?" The man asked his blade moved down from Mackwell's neck down to the vials gripped in his fingers. "From the ruckus I heard from above, I'm assuming you are."

Mackwell stepped back. "Yes, I am..." He put the chemicals back into his robes. Indicating that he refused to fight. "Judging from your behavior, I assume you don't wish to fight. Please... if you will." In response, the Knight also sheathed his blade.

"The men upstairs, have you brought reinforcements?" The knight asked.

"Yes, 4 others."

"4?"

"They are quite skilled." Mackwell replied. "Who are you...?"

"Hanrei..." The man replied. "My name is Hanrei... I've been working here for weeks, hoping to do the same you are." He lifted the visor to reveal a face not much older than Mackwell's 25 winters. From inspecting his pale skin, the man probably hasn't seen the sun in a while. "I'm a guard... to the prisoner's cells."

"I assume you wish to see, them? Maybe even Miss Lear, perhaps?" The Knight asked.

"You know about her?" Mackwell felt the inside of him rise. "Then... Miss Stanice? And Lear? Are they ok?" He grabbed the man's armor, "Please, tell me where they are! I beg of you!"

"Peace, man." Hanrei picked up the torch and walked down the tunnel. "Miss Stanice, is fine..."

"And Lear?" Mackwell asked.

Hanrei evaded it. "You were fortunate to arrive when you did... In a few hours, they would have been, well..."

The two walked passed the wine cellar and into a series of jail cells... Mackwell's eyes widened in horror. The women being held captive... they were all pale faced and wide-eyed, extremely thin and weak. They looked as if they have seen death. Some women were covered in scratches, filth and frost bites. Hanrei, who was leading Mackwell into the dungeon, merely looked away. The alchemist's fears and anger began to rise, he grabbed Hanrei's collar. For the first time, Mackwell felt himself explode.

"These women! What's wrong?" he asked, "Why are they-? Look at them!" Mackwell's arms began to shake in anger... "Have you not fed them? Have you done nothing but let them suffer?"

Hanrei avoided eye contact. "It is of no use... it is bitterly cold here in the winter, and yet... when I offer them food and blankets they turn their cheeks away..." Hanrei's eyes sharpened, "It seemed they would rather waste away than suffer from a fate so cruel. Half of them lost their sanity by now... it is bitterly cold down here, suffering is immense, not to mention the darkness... Also, I will not deny that you may sometimes see things, terrible things." Hanrei breathed out, "Now, if you will... I'll lead you to your friends."

Mackwell's grip loosened. "You won't fight me?"

"What is the point?" Hanrei replied bitterly. "We are on the same side. And just a few days ago... your friend. She talked about you..."

"She did?" Mackwell asked.

The Soldier nodded, "A song... a haunting song was sung. We have not much time, the Don will arrive in a short hour's time..."

Hanrei led Mackwell to the last hall and corridor, The warmth of the wine cellar began to disappear, and bitter cold exchanged its place. Mackwell could see vapors come out of his mouth; he watched the women behind the cells stare with large, pale and gaunt eyes. They looked terrible, they had no energy to moan... only hold their hands up to them. Mackwell's fears began to rise...

"Here..."

The last dungeon cell, Hanrei signaled him forward. Mackwell rushed forward, it was darker inside the cell, nothing but blackness. Mackwell gripped the cold bars in his hands, the icy cold metal began to hiss when he touched them. The pain was extreme... but he winced and pushed forward.

"Miss Lear!" Mackwell shouted in the darkness. "Miss Stanice? Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

They could hear some shuffling from below. The dungeons were nothing but a series of holes with bars preventing escape... Surrounded by metal walls in the cold tower. Beds were nothing but mere piles of hay, and nothing more. Suddenly, a voice appeared from the darkness.

"Who's there?" The voice asked.

"Mackwell!" The alchemist answered.

"Mr. Mackwell?" The voice was dazed, almost cheery yet sleepy. "Fancy meeting you here, in a place like this? Though, I do believe strange happenings always happen."

"Miss Stanice?" Mackwell looked around, sure enough Stanice's face appeared out of the darkness. "Dear lord, you'r icy pale."

Stanice smiled weakly, "I do believe it is a bit chilly."

"Are you alright?" Mackwell asked, Stanice's clothes were dirty and ripped. She was pale faced, but not as bad as the other women... she still had the spirit to smile back. Stanices' legs were dirty and covered in frostbite, therefore the poor woman stumbled forward into Mackwell's arms. He could feel her cold and clammy skin... She was here for only one day and look at her now...

"I'm fine..." Stanice murmured. "It's just terribly cold."

"Hanrei..." Mackwell called the knight. He walked forward holding up the torch... Stanice smiled as she saw the warm blaze emanating from the light.

"Ah, so warm... it's very nice... Mr. Mackwell... Miss Lear... she needs you." Stanice replied. "It seems such environments are not well suited for my species. But do help her..." Stanice's eyes became foggy, her grip loosened. "I'm sorry... After you help her... I hope we can have some... nice tea..."

Mackwell stood up. The fellow inventor wasn't dead, just weak... but he felt a surge of anger in him. This terrible and cruel place could cause this much suffering in one night? He was absolutely silent, his face showed evidence of solemn danger. Hanrei quickly unlocked the door, the bars swung open with a loud creak. With a deep breath, Mackwell walked into the darkness... his mind set on one thing.

"I found you..."

**_Act II: Broken Spirit_**

Mackwell walked into the Darkness, his eyes scanning the environment. The jail cell was like a large hole littered with rats, dumped garbage and a small window that was barred up and baricaded. The wooden planks covering the windows, barred the view, but the ice and snow still blew in. It was freezing! Such an environment was not suited for anyone to live in, let alone in the dead of winter in Airyglyph. Mackwell walked forward, his eyes slowly adapting to the darkness. Suddenly, he froze. On the farthest corner of the abyss was a limp body in the corner. It was dirty, cold and pale, but Mackwell automatically knew who it was.

"Lear..." the alchemist whispered. "Miss Lear!"

Mackwell ran up to the body. Her dark hair was everywhere, her face even more pale than usual. She was gaunt, but her beauty still emanated despite it all. Mackwell held her cold body, she wasn't dead... her heartbeat was slow, but she was still alive. Lear didn't stir... she was frozen. her dark lips were no longer warm, her arms and legs coated in a light frostbite. Mackwell untied his robe and slung it around her cold body. She was so cold, she lost the energy to even shiver...

"Can you hear me?" Mackwell asked. "Lear, are you alright?"

"..." There was no reply.

"You can't wake her up." Hanrei climbed down, over his shoulder was Miss Stanice's cold body. "This woman's hope was shattered..."

"She's stil alive!" Mackwell replied. He brushed the light tears from his eyes. "As long as she still breathes, it's alright!"

Hanrei shook his head, "She may not be dead... but even when she wakes up, how do you know she'll still be the same person?" Mackwell froze from the thought. Hanrei sighed, "She held onto her hopes till the very end...this place is evil, you know? Once it was an execution ground and torture chamber in Airyglyph... you can just guess what you see in this terrible place. Even so, she called your name... You tend to forget who you are when your around this place."

"We're getting out of here." Mackwell replied, he lifted Misty Lear's body firmly in his grip. If it wasn't for his cloak around her, he had the feeling she would shatter into a million pieces. Her body was light, due to the lack of weight... he could've sworn she made a low sigh. "We're leaving _now_."

"Very well..." Hanrei replied. "It might be wise to get going..."

-

**_Meanwhile..._**

**_Why Albel Nox should never drink more than one cup of wine... and I mean NEVER  
_**

Albel Nox, Nel Zelpher, Lias and Gusto sat by the bar counter... Mackwell's been gone for a pretty long time. Our group of heroes were calm, Mackwell may not be skilled at hand-to-hand combat, but the man shows much resistance when necessary. Nel Zelpher knew this well. It was rather difficult to even touch Mackwell... plus she knew well enough the man had enough resources, supplies and chemicals, it would make the Aquarian doctors blush with shame. It was quiet... even Gusto didn't make a noise. After an hours nap, Gusto was re-energized, but even he knew the gravity of the situation... the large blacksmith stood in the corner, his favorite hammer was positioned in front of him, his palms on the end of his massive hammer. He looked like a soldier, but his eyes were dark...

It's been an hour already. From the information they gathered, the Don would start his party shortly. Lias sat in the adjacent corner... the waiting was killing them slowly.

"Maybe we should go check up on him..." Lias broke the silence, his voice softly penetrated the room, barely audible. From above the snoring drunkards, the other three were alerted by his suggestion.

"The plan was to wait for his signal." Nel replied, her elbow propped on the counter, and her palm on her cheek. "If he needs our help, he would have sent it by now."

"Yes, well... maybe he found some trouble down there. You never know-" Lias was cut off rudely by Sir Nox.

"Bah, your foolish concerns won't help you now, worm." Albel sneered. "I can't stand this waiting, screw this signal and lets drag them out already."

"Wait for the signal." Nel replied once more, irritatedly.

"I don't take orders from you, Zelpher!" Albel replied scornfully. A momentary silence followed...

"There's still a chance he may have been ambushed..." Gusto replied solemnly, his face like ashen stone. "Not to mention, Mr. Mackwell is scrawny, whether he could carry to women upon his back may prove difficult. It would be best to take precautions-"

"Screw it," Albel replied, he placed a cup of wine to his mouth. "If he happens to be dead, then we'll just drag his sorry behind out, no big deal. Corpse or not." It was obvious, Albel nox had one too many cups of wine... his face was red and flushed. Behind him was a pile of unconscious drunkards, tied up and beaten. Nox, with his katana in hand slapped one of the men in the rear. "Stupid maggots! I promised I would... I would..." Nox took another sip of the wine, "Beat you in the over when it's rear..."

"I think the term is, 'Beat you in the rear when it's over." Lias replied with a weak smile.

"Did I say you can speak, Maggot Lias?" Albel yelled pointing an accused finger at Gusto. Gusto, bewildered, pointed at himself.

"I'm Gusto." Gusto stared blankly.

"Maybe he had too many drinks for one night." Lias said nervously, "Maybe we should apply this antidote that Mr. Mackwell handed us? It worked wonders on Gusto..." The vial in Lias' hands was made of a clear, crystal liquid. Truly a wonderous panacea. It could reawaken the unconscious and cure almost any poisons... especially alcohol poisoning.

"I don't need any of your fancy medicine!" Albel snarled. "I'm an Ayriglyph from Soldier!" a hiccup followed, "Son of Glou Woltar, friend of Nox!"

"I think you mean, 'Soldier from Airyglyph, son of Glou Nox and friend of Woltar..." Nel sighed, "Yep, the fool's deffinitely drunk."

With a flash of drunken anger, Albel dashed up to Nel, pinning her against the wall. His eyes were gleaming with a new kind of evil... Nel surprised, held her dagger up in self defense. His long katana was edged at her throat, his clawed arm took her wrist in its metallic grip. They were so close, they could feel each other's breath. Both of their faces were red, Nel was surprised and embarrased, Albel was drunk and... well drunk. Not only that, he was a bad drunk. A bad drunk and easily angered... Lias and Gusto ran up to them, attempting to release Nox, but the swordsman appeared to be twice his normal strength when angered.

For a Skinny guy, the swordsman sure had an adrenaline rush. Gusto, rather than ripping him off attempted to plead with Nox, Of course pleading with a drunk swordsman never solves anything.

"Well, well, well, Zelpher..." Albel hissed, "Looks like the great Crimson Blade of Aquaria does have a weakness..."

"Nox..." Nel was a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "For once, think clearly... you fool..."

"I am thinking clearly." Albel gave a malicious chuckle. "Now that i look at you, Zelpher... you look pretty cute when your helpless and afraid..."

"What the hell...?" Nel blushed, but she quickly replaced it with a stern face. Stern face or not, she was still red. "I'm not afraid! I'm angry!"

"Ooh... Even better." Albel mused.

Lias, who was attempting to lower the long katana away from the lady was shaking violently. "Please-! Sir Albel, lower your blade! This is not the time to be showing hostility!"

"Lias is right! This is not the place to be confessing your love!" Gusto yelled, "Or Atleast, if you want to confess, do it in a more romantic location! And not while you try to kill the girl!"

"Gusto! That's beside the point!" Lias sighed.

"You two maggots, butt out!" Nox yelled. "This has nothing to do with you!" The young swordsman swiped his claw at the two interfering blacksmiths. Lias quickly jumped backwards, as did Gusto after him.

"The guy's a mad drunk!" Gusto held up his hammer, "If you want I can smack him unconscious for you."

"Gusto! If you do that you'll break more than just his conscious! You'll break his skull!" Lias held Gusto back.

"Don't be silly! If I know anything, Albel's got a strong head!"

"That's beside the point!"

Albel inched the blade closer and closer, Nel inched backwards her back to the wall... when Albel was drunk, the man was drunk! For a second, Nel eyes widened... Albel's red eyes seemed to have lose its evil gleam and for a split second she could have seen it soften... just for a moment.

_**(Just to let you know A TRUE FACT, for affection Albel's affection in the game for Nel is 20 points, whereas Nel's affection for Albel is only 15... poor Albel, unrequitted love, right there.)**_

The Swordsman gave a course chuckle, "You hate me alot, don't you, Zelpher... Just the mere sound of my name makes your blood boil, doesn't it?"

"And what of it?" Nel shot back. "Can't say you show any courtesy let alone respect for others!"

Albel looked down, his eyes darkened. "Stupid maggot... don't you see? Men can't express themselves with words..." Albel coughed, "I hate women who amuse me."

"Oh?" Nel's hand began to shake, the dagger aimed at his bare abdomen. "That must mean you hate me..."

"Yes, that also means a worm like you, amuse me..." Without another word, Albel seized Nel's lips by force. Nel, absolutely startled, was more frozen than the ice outside... her mind was rapid. She didn't know whether to scream and cry blood Apris, or Stab Albel here and now... there was an intimate silence in the room. What drove her crazy was she can feel the man's tongue! It tasted sweet like wine, the shock was traumatizing.

"Nox..." Nel could barely release his name.

**_BONK!_**

Albel fell to the floor, his head hit pretty hard. Nel stared confused at the swordsman on the floor... Lias stood behind him, smiling gently. In his hand he tapped Gusto's massive hammer, looks like Lias hit a home run!

"Well, I do believe Lady Nel and Sir Nox should end this conversation elsewhere." Lias replied with a smile. He just smacked Albel in the noggin- I mean head! "Now if you don't mind, it would be best to apply this remedy in Sir Nox, wouldn't you agree?"

Both Nel and Gusto stared open mouthed.

"Lias-! you-!" Gusto began, "How come you get to hit Albel? That's not fair! Not to mention completely not like you! How come you get to hit him and not me?"

"Because you would give the poor man, permanent brain damage." Lias replied. "Now Lady Nel, if you will..."

Gusto stared at the bottle of wine that Albel was drinking... It was called 'Purple Heaven'... what kind of name is Purple Heaven for wine? Sure enough the wine was a deep shade of violet... but his eyes fixed on the label on the bottom of the glass.

**_EXTRA STRONG; 60 Alcohol_**

_**NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS **_

"Ooh... should have watched for that one." Gusto winced. "Well atleast he didn't hurt you, right, Nel?"

__

Nel was shocked for more reasons than one. Albel just kissed her! Right in the lips too! Not to mention, he confessed his feelings straight out! And second, shy Lias just smacked Albel in the head with a 50 pound Steel hammer! Holy Apris, today was just filled with goddamn surprises... The Crimson blade's mouth was covered, her face red with embarrassment.

"Lady Nel...?" Lias snapped her out of thought, "If you will?"

"O-of course..." Nel smiled, talking quickly. "We can't let him just lie here!" Nel laughed nervously, "I think its best if we don't tell him what happened when he wakes up? Hmm?"

"Oh? Why not?" Gusto asked. "This can be the blossoming of a beautiful relationship!"

"GUSTO!" Lias and Nel both replied sternly. Nel quickly applied the panacea into Albel's mouth, his face was returning to its natural color, and the sweat disappeared from his face. Nel glanced at the bottle, _Wow, this was some pretty strong stuff_. She has to ask Mackwell where he got this stuff... "Remember Gusto, Not-a-single-word. Understood?"

"Ok fine..." Gusto returned to his solemn and stone-like expression. "Mackwell... what about Mackwell?"

"It's way past the due time." Nel replied wiping his lips with her arm. "We should take action... Reinforcements won't arrive for another hour or so..."

"Aside from that," Lias smiled, his pushed his glasses up with the palm of his hand, "We have a few guests today..."

Lias, Gusto and Nel turned to face the hall that Mackwell went through before... Before them were a series of men. From the looks of their faces, and the fact that they bore swords and no armor, it was easily noticeable what they were.

"Mercenaries..." Albel spat, "Soldiers of no honor... except for maybe their greed. Lowly maggots..."

The other three looked down at Albel, with his katana he slowly got up on his feet. He looked normal, aside from the fact that he just got smacked in the head with a hammer, and drank too much wine for one night. He rubbed his head, and groaned.

"Oh, Albel, awake already?" Nel asked, surprised. She looked at the label of the bottle:

**_Universal Panacea_**

_Used for almost any illness from Small Pox, to the common cold._

_Instant Relief_**_ Maximum Strength. _**_Apply to the mouth. Extra Strong, **do not overdose**.  
_

_Even works on Diarrhea and Athlete's foot... (O-o;;)  
_

_Creator: Mackwell _

"Yeah...so..." Albel responded, "What happened?"

"You-!" Gusto paused, "You drank a little too much and fell asleep."

"Really?" Albel groaned, "Why the hell do I have such a heavy headache... I feel liked someone pelted me in the head with a hammer?"

"Hangover?" Gusto asked smiling nervously.

"Sorry about that." Lias replied nervously. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"You did WHAT?" Albel yelled for a second than clutched his beating head. "Oww..."

"Enough chit-chat, Mackwell needs help!" Nel drew out the two daggers from her holster, "Let's kick them out of the way and move forward!" The three stared as Nel jumped into the group of Mercenaries, slamming their heads together and slashing her way through. Albel stared positively wide-eyed... since when was Nel Zelpher so energetic all of a sudden? Lias and Gusto both stared at Albel for a second... Albel stared back.

"What the hell are you two maggots looking at?" Albel snapped.

"Oh nothing..." The two men sighed.

"Well, whatever!" Albel drew his katana, "I will not be bested by a woman!" Gusto and Lias stared as Albel Nox dived into the group of mercenaries, slashing his way through... They were both amazed and downright frightened...

"They_ most deffinitely _like each other... It's almost a little _too _perfect..." Gusto muttered, covering his face with his hand. He began to rub his eyes...

"Yep..." Lias smiled as the two warriors from different countries forced their way through the sea of mercenaries. "It's kind of sweet, you know?"

"Sweet?" Gusto sighed, "More like positvely frightening..."

**_Act III: The Morning Sun_**

Mackwell stood outside of the large facility... the icy cold wind blowing past him. Beside him on the left was Lias and Gusto, on the other side was Nel and Albel... In his arms was the cold body of Misty Lear. Everything... everything seemed to have gone by so fast. Everything was like a blur to him... What happened before? It was confusing... so much confusion. The Whore house was on fire... luckily everyone evacuated the premises except one man. The ringleader of this whole scheme... It brought a wave of relief. Those burning flames. An evil, almost haunted and tormenting place was now destroyed, put to rest.Two women came running up from below the hill...

"Lady Nel, Tynave reporting." The short haired soldier soluted.

"Farleen, here and present." Farleen replied in her high pitched voice.

"Tynave, Farleen, how is the investigation coming along?" Nel asked, her arms crossed. "I hope you bring good news to us?"

"Well, the body of the Don was not found." Tynave replied, "The troops have secured the area, we are ready to storm in once the flames die out."

"I understand." Nel replied.

"Wow, Lady Nel that was some impressive work. All 30 missing women are comfirmed... and they will be returned to their homes in the morning." Farleen smiled, "Claire and Count Woltar will be arriving tonight for a thorough investigation..."

"But what about their state of mind?" Nel asked. "Can they really be restored to normal?"

"Well, I'm not an expert on the subject. Lady Claire has the list of all the missing women's name and it should be easy to send them home... as for their current state of mind, only time can heal those wounds." A clipboard was passed from Tynave to Nel, "This is the Doctor's report... physically, they will be alright."

Mackwell stood on the slope, his eyes fixed on the flames below. Hanrei, the mysterious soldier was _gone_. The man disappeared shortly after the reinforcements arrived. Down below, Mackwell could see many soldiers from Airyglyph, they were arresting the criminals... The alchemist was rather relieved. If Hanrei was present, the man would be sent in for questioning. He would probably be arrested for being an accomplice, or contained as a vital witness. Before Hanrei disappeared, he told Mackwell that the woman he was searching for wasn't here...

Mackwell began to drill his mind. _What had happened back there?_ All he could remember was encountering the Don... but after that there was smoke, Hanrei grabbed a vial from the alchemist's belt and caused a massive confusion. Something after that was about an underground tunnel, and a hauler. After that, he woke up riding a railcart with Lias, Gusto, Nel and Albel... the 30 or so women were also present... Did Mackwell black out? Or did his body finally give up on him? He was never the most physically fit, now that he thought about it, Mackwell got sick alot.

"Would you like a blanket, Sir Mackwell?" Tynave asked, in her hands were a dozen woolen and thickly knit blankets. "You must be cold in that thin robe..."

He looked down at his clothes. The rich colors of his robe was now ashen. The explosion covered it in ash and soot. Without his great cloak, he looked like a commoner. He merely smiled.

"I'm ok." Mackwell held out Lear in front of him. "If you could, miss, please, she might need it." The Sky was beginning to show an orange glow, the sun peaking from behind the mountains. From behind them Gusto yawned, stretching his arms.

"Well, that was enough adventure for one morning." Gusto rubbed his ear. "Sadly, the ending wasn't as happy as I thought, but ahh well..."

"What are you going to do?" Nel asked Mackwell.

"I'm taking her home." Mackwell replied with a weak smile, "The doctors informed me that her mind is in a critical state of trauma... so I'll be putting her to bed. My theory is that due to her broken heart even before this incident... she won't be normal for a while."

"Sorry, Mackwell." Gusto waved, leaning on his hammer, "Sorry it didn't come out as well as planned."

Mackwell smiled and hugged Misty Lear in his arms, his warm cheek touching hers. "I hope your not joking, Mr. Gusto. I'm positively overjoyed that she's returned." The alchemist's face was now a sad smile, "She may not be the same, but I'm hoping for the best."

Gusto, Lias and Nel stared at each other... _wow, this was a dramatic change in his character_. What happened to the old Mackwell? The Mackwell that was always a proper, stoic and solemn gentleman? The Mackwell that was always devoted to work, schedule and time? The Young man who was always serious and cold? The Old Mackwell that was always alone... Always thinking logical... always the one who had to show the bitter reality of every situation? Nel gave a small smile, Professor Elena must be thrilled to see her prized pupil open up more.

"Now, if you will." Mackwell wrapped the blanket tightly around the Lear's body. "I'll be bidding you farewell for now." Mackwell waved, "Also, do tell Miss Welch that I won't be attending work for _some _time. Expect me back in about a week. Lady Nel, Sir Nox, Sir Lias and Sir Gusto. It was a pleasure working with you. I'm hoping to work together in the future." With a swift turn, Mackwell disappeared from their sights. A bag of supplies, notes and memories slung over his shoulder, and a special person in his arms. Nel watched as he disappeared, The last thing she saw was the rising morning sun.

"He's grown soft." Albel replied bitterly.

"I guess Airyglyph isn't the only place that started to warm up." Nel said, her voice small.

"He just called me Sir." Gusto was shocked. He turned to Lias pointing at himself, "Do I look like a Sir to you?"

"Oh yeah, Zelpher... about that bet..." Albel began.

_**YYYAAAWWWNNN**_

"Miss Stanice!" Lias jumped up. "You're alright?"

The winged woman in Lias' arms woke up, she had the same sleepy and tired smile. Of course, like always, she was completely oblivious on what was going on. But at a time like this, everyone needed some cheery Stanice. The craftsman stretched her arms as she gave another loud yawn, rubbing her eyes. Confused, she looked around at her surroundings... Cold Outside. Bright Sun, friends all around, a blanket draped around her, and everyone's face staring at hers. Stanice gave a warm smile.

"Ah, Good morning everyone?" Stanice replied with the usual ditzy smile, "My, Why are we all gathered out here? Are we having a picnic? Or perhaps its a sleep over?"

"N-no..." Lias answered with a nervous smile, "That's not the case. You're not injured anywhere, are you?"

"Of course not." Stanice replied with a smile. "Why, were you worried about me, Lias?"

"Uhh..." Lias's pale face turned bright red, "O-of course...I was."

"Of course he was!" Gusto replied triumphantly, "Like a blade that shows its true colors in battle, Young Lias here, as learned to show you his true colors in the face of all adversary. For the sake of the one he must protect, Miss Stanice it was truly touching! Shy Lias has coped with his fear and swept to your rescue!"

"..." Everyone just stared... Wow, Gusto sure was... energetic. And a little too exagerative.

"Really?" Stanice asked, once again oblivious. "Were you really that worried about clumsy little me?"

"Y-yes..." Lias' face was red with embarassment.

"That's so sweet of you, Lias." Stanice gave Lias a light kiss on the cheek. Lias' face turned bright red, his cheek burning. "It's such a nice morning! The sun gives me such nice strength, and there's a gentle wind today, too. My, it's rather early, would you like to join me for some morning tea and biscuits? My treat."

Lias nodded. "I would be happy too."

"I'll come too!" Gusto laughed, he hoisted Stanice on his broad shoulders as they walked down the slope. Laughing and chatting to themselves.

"I though you didn't like tea...?" Lias asked Gusto.

"NONSENSE!" Gusto replied. "Why don't you know that every sword needs it's strong luster and-"

"Ok, ok." Lias smiled nervously, "I get the point."

Now only Albel Nox and Nel Zelpher remained on the hill. Nel smiled as she looked at the bright sun above the Mountain. Airyglyph wasn't that bad... they shared something in common with Aquaria. The Sun of Apris that gave them life. Nel stretched and gave a light sigh. Albel watched, confused...

"Well, this was deffinitely an interesting week..." Nel smiled. "I'll have to tell the queen to give me a small vacation."

"Oh? Actually asking for a vacation, are you?" Albel scowled. "That's new."

"Don't be so bitter, Albel." Nel waved. "It's too early to start a fight."

"Hey, Zelpher..." Albel began, blushing slightly. "About that bet..."

Nel placed a finger over Albel's lips. She winked and smiled, causing Albel to turn red... Zelpher looked cute like that. Nel laughed, "Not now, Albel. Maybe later... for now let's just settle this as a temporary truce."

"..." Albel stared.

"Well, see you later." Nel waved as she marched down the hill. A crow's voice echoed in the distance. It was time to return to Aquaria. "We both won that bet..." Nel smiled, she wrapped the skarf around her mouth, "No one lost this time."

_To be Continued_

_

* * *

I figured out that this one chapter can't sum up this whole story. So I'll have to add some additional chapters. Sorry everyone for that EXCRUCIATING Wait. I'm terribly sorry! (Bows down) FORGIVE ME!_

**_BOOOO!_**

_(Everyone throws daggers and books at Psychodog)_

_AHHHH! I'M SORRY! STOP HURTING ME! _

_**Next Chapter: **_

_**Chapter XI**: **How it Ended**_


	11. Just plain Psychoness

**_Eureka I got it!_**

**_Chapter XI: How it Ended_**

**_- Part I -_**

**_Just Plain Psycho-ness _**

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean.

If I did, the Star of the Game would be Mackwell and Misty Lear,

Not Fayt and Sophia.

And our Court Jester would be Roger S. Huxley...

_Author's Note: YAY! Last Chapter! How shall I end it? Hmmm... (thinks hard) Anyway, I still have to make up to everyone since I didn't update till like... FOREVER. I'll think of something XD. Anyway, Enjoy the ending and I hope you all had fun reading this fic! Who knows... maybe I'll make another Fanfic dedicated to the Inventors._

_Everyone: NO!_

_Psycho dog: ( > ) Aww, Why not?  
_

* * *

_**Act I: What happened to Leingod**_

_**Judgment Day (Why little girls should never watch Gothic movies)  
**_

Everyone's favorite hero, Fayt Leingod, woke up. His eyes opening slowly to scan his surroundings... It was very dark, he could barely see anything. Nothing but blackness, and the strange stench of cheese. Old cheese... everyone knows how bad old cheese smells. But as they say, cheese is like wine, the older the better. Too bad it doesn't do the same for the smell. Ignoring the fact that the room smelled of dairy products, he felt somewhat awkward. The blood rushing to his head. It then smacked him hard! He was hanging upside down! Surely enough, he could feel the tight ropes binding him, no escape. He could hear shuffling from below, and a light gurgling noise. He may not be able to see, but he could sense the presence of people.

"Where am I?" Fayt asked, somewhat bewildered. "Is anybody there?"

A light flashed on his face. Almost blinding, The blue haired earthling winced.

"Good morning, Leingod." A voice snickered from the darkness. "I do hope you had a nice sleep..."

"Who's that?" Fayt asked, the voice sounded young. His eyes widened. Despite the fact that he couldn't see the faces of his captors, that voice was way _too _familiar! "Puffy? _Is that you?_"

Puffy walked up, her face now visible in the light. She wore a long black, gothic robe. Something the people of a cult would wear. Adorned around her neck was a necklace of bones, and she had black markings under her eyes. "Yes, Leingod it is I! Puffy! The Future ruler of this world!"

"So it is you Puffy? What's going on around here? Why are you dressed like a member of the occult? Puffy, what are-?" Leingod was cut off by the deathglare from the little girl.

"DID I SAY YOU CAN SPEAK, LEINGOD?" Puffy asked. She grabbed a stick and poked him hard in the head.

"Ouch!" Fayt was swinging back and forth attempting to avoid the stick that was aiming for his eyes. "What're you doing that for? Puffy! What is the matter with you? And why am I hanging _upside down?_"

"Refrain from speaking, hostage!" Puffy yelled swatting him once more. "I am the RULER now! You must call me Master Puffy! Ruler of Worlds!"

"Again with the ruler of the world talk." Fayt sighed, "Why do you keep doing this to me Puffy? What's your grudge, anyway?"

Puffy's face cracked into a wide grin. Her eyes shined evilly as the insane inventor began to cackle with laughter. "Because! I shall prove to everyone that I AM THE BEST! What better way to express this than destroying the main lead?" Puffy sharpened the stick and swatted him in the back. "Once the main lead is gone, I shall rise to the top! And the whole world shall bow down to my brilliance!" Puffy's evil laugh echoed throughout the dark room. Only thing visible was Leingod hanging on the ceiling and Puffy, who was standing on a tall platform.

"You're mad!" Fayt gasped. "Sophia and the others will never let you get away with this!"

"Oh?" Puffy giggled, "I beg to differ!" With a snap of a finger, another light on the other side of the room lit up. Lo! There was Sophia tied up and gagged. The female earthling was frightened, her massive eyes bright. The girl's hands were bounded by chains, and a blue skarf was tied around her mouth. She could only stare helplessly at Fayt and the psycho Puffy. Puffy gave another maniacal laugh, "Y'see Leingod, we took the necessary precautions for this. Never underestimate my brilliance!"

"Let Sophia go!" Fayt yelled. "Puffy, let her go this instant!"

"Never! The Hostage has no to right command me!" Puffy's eyes flashed dangerously, "besides, we worked hard to capture her."

"_We_?" Fayt asked. "_You mean there are others?_"

"Yes, Fayt we did it too..." A voice appeared out of the darkness. Fayt stared down in horror as another girl appeared from below. She wore the same black robe and hood that Puffy was wearing, except this girl had short dark hair and nice eyes. Leingod immediately recognized her... the girl who helped him in the Kirlsa training facility... it was... "Mayu...Mayu! _You too_? But Why?"

"Because, Fayt. You broke my heart." Mayu felt a tear coming down her eye. "You're a big fat jerk, Fayt!" (If you remember from Chapter II)

"Oooh, Shot down by an admirer." Puffy snickered, "Mayu here, was of great help. She helped me organize this entire scheme!"

"I didn't mean to..." Fayt stammered, "It was a misunderstanding! Mayu-! Mayu please listen to me!"

"SILENCE, PRISONER!" Puffy smacked him once more, "This is called REVENGE! Vengeance! You shall suffer in the face of the one you love!" Puffy pointed at Sophia in the corner, "As for her! She shall be held in the chamber of ETERNAL TORTURE! MWAHAHAHAA!"

"Puffy!" Fayt yelled, "DON'T! I BEG OF YOU!"

Puffy once more snapped her fingers. The lights flashed from below Leingod, and his stared wide-eyed at his punishment. Below his head, he has finally discovered what smelled like old cheese! A decent 20 feet below his head was a Boiling pot. The Pot was the size of a massive swimming pool, and the water was boiling hot. Fayt began to sweat as the steam rose up... The liquid was a murky brown, and he could see floating vegetables. It was an oversized cooking pot! Stirring the boiling liquid, was lady Rigel and the Killer Chef, both who were also dressed up as members of the occult. Rigel smiled as she took a sip from the pot.

"Mmhmm... Delicious." Rigel took a deep breath, "Sadly, it needs more _meat_, wouldn't you agree my little green friend?"

"Hehe..." The Killer chef pulled out two knives, His eyes staring madly at Leingod. "MEAT... Heheh... Nice Tender meat... Chop chop chop..."

Fayt shuddered at the sight. It was sickening... The Killer Chef began to cackle in delight. "Just a few more minutes! Just a few MORE minutes."

"As you can see, Fayt Leingod. Your punishment has already been chosen." Puffy walked down the platform triumphantly, bearing the posture of an Emperor. "We chose to cook you into a nice stew! How does that sound? Now we must find out if you are guilty of these charges! Good thing we have a group of fair judges among us." Another snap of the finger, as 2 hooded, and robed strangers appeared. "Please welcome, Crazy Chilico," Chilico smiled a cute-but-deadly-and-vicious smile.

"How ya doing?" Chilico smiled.

"Notorious Noppin." Puffy pointed at the second man. Noppin, his chin up high bowed.

"Greetings, Leingod boy." He replied in a proper tone.

"And last but not least, Little Mayu herself."

"Sorry, Fayt." Mayu bowed apologetically.

Fayt felt a cold sweat pour down his face... All three of them held a grudge against him for his previous actions. Well, except for maybe Chilico, but we all know how much Chilico **_ENJOYS_** playing the cute-but-evil badguy along with Puffy. Puffy cleared her throat, "We had a difficult time to choose the proper punishment. It was hard to choose from, Shall we freeze you in the mountain, like in Airyglyph's Workshop...?"

"That was an accident!" Fayt countered, "I had no idea that curse was real!"

"BOOOOO!" Noppin and Chilico both yelled. Noppin held up a sign, on it was a series of words.

"Leingod, for putting our lives in substantial danger, and not taking the necessary precautions in ADDITION to refusing to take responsibility, you are charged _**GUILTY!**_" Noppin read his sign.

Chilico held up her sign, it read in squiggly but readable letters. '**_PUFFY YOU ROCK! xD' _**

"Shall we stuff you with food until you beg for mercy?" Puffy asked, pointing at a series of plates set on a neat dining table. "Be careful! The food is filled with my special Durian stun bomb solution. The results will be... _explosive_."

"But we were kind enough to give you a nice, painful and positively wonderful punishment. We shall boil you and cook you, to create a most delicious Leingod Stew. As requested by our three chefs." Puffy pointing at the large pot below.

"But I had no idea Mayu would-!" Fayt began to complain, "This is unfair! Sophia and I-! It was an accident, Mayu, please understand! You know I would never..."

Mayu looked away. Puffy only poked Fayt harder with her sharp stick. "You are our human sacrifice, Leingod. Be prepared for the worst! Noppin read the poor fool his rights!"

"Ahem," Noppin cleared his throat, pulling out a large roll of parchment. "Sir Leingod, you are accused of the emotional murder of miss Mayu, the potential danger of killing Inventors, and deemed highly dangerous. THUS, you shall be given this capital punishment as judgment. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do shall be held against you in this cult. Your role lead shall now be passed down to Lady Puffy and to show her great mercy, you are given one final request before your sticky fate."

"Really?" Fayt asked, lightening up. "I get one last final request?"

"Yes." Noppin answered.

"Then I-!"

"No we shall not spare your life." Noppin answered promptly.

"Then can you-!"

"No we shall NOT release Lady Sophia from the Chamber of Eternal Torture."

"Then-!"

"And no, we will not give you another fair trial, let alone a change in punishment, you are not given a temporary postponement or any other delay of this trial. End of Story."

"That's not fair!" Fayt yelled. "You call those fair rights? This is blackmail! You hear me? Black mail!" Puffy then stood up, holding her hands up.

"Farewell, Leingod. I knew thee well... actually no I didn't, but it sounds cool." Piffy snickered. "This is MY TIME to SHINE! Cut the ropes!"

Finally, with a quick snap of the ropes, The Killer chef chopped up the only support. Leingod, hanging upside down, over a boiling pot of stew, fell down to meet his sticky end. Puffy stared down triumphantly, her smirk now twisted to a grin. She pulled the black hood off her head and laughed as Fayt Leingod's legs were dangling. Everyone broke into a giggle, There was Fayt Leingod, dunked head first into the world's largest pile and world's most stickiest of Jellos and dessert.

"So, how long did you say it takes to eat your way out of that stuff?" Puffy asked Mayu.

"4 weeks, tops." Mayu replied with a smile. "Miss Rigel, Killer Chef and I made it personally. Also, below that is the stew... so add an additional 2 weeks."

"Excellent..." Puffy smiled. "My Conquest shall raise the greatest Empire! WORLD DOMINATION! Today, Star Ocean, Tomorrow THE UNIVERSE! MWAHAHAHAHAA!"

The End?

* * *

**_Act II: What happened in Peterny_**

**_How it began again..._**

Peterny City, the city of commerce. The busy streets were bustling with people, the clock struck noon. Though the city was nice and happy, with all its busy people going shopping and doing business; the Peterny workshop was having the time of their life. The Workshop, was thankfully, fully repaired and everyone was returning to their normal lives. Well, ALMOST normal life. Everyone had to admit, this week sure was full of surprises. Even from across the street, Welch and the old Guildmaster could hear the boisterous laughs and shouts of joy from the inside. Twice, was Welch forced to rush in, wondering who started the fire. It was like a party.

"Meryl! You're back!" Vanilla jumped into the young girl's arms. "How was your old man?"

"Ehh, you know him." Meryl laughed, "The guy is _always _up to something. So did you miss me, little buddy?"

"You bet!" Vanilla snuggled his fuzzy head into the girl's arms.

"Well I missed you too! Boy, Greeton is a real bore now adays..." Meryl shook her head, "See, now if they had regular geniuses like us around, The city would be chock full of new discoveries."

"Hey, now that your back." Vanilla put up a sneaky smile, "How about that Mega flare bomb, neh?"

"My little, fuzzy, cohort." Meryl pat Vanilla in the head as she lifted the brim of her hat, "You're a genius! Revolutionary break through, HERE WE COME!"

"We're geniuses!" Vanilla yelled. Without a moment to spare, the two Engineers rushed up to their work corner and began to furiously construct another bomb. Gears went flying, wrenches were banging, screws were twisted and the sweet sound of success rang across the Workshop. Meryl was gone for 2 whole weeks, they had some serious catching up to do! As the two diligent children were working on another explosive, on the other side of the room was a dark haired man.

Evia sat in the corner, where it was nice and quiet. His daughter, Aqua was across the street with miss Welch and the old Guildmaster. The timid father carefully and skillfully began to use his hands to create more small knick knacks for his daughter. Money was now coming easier to him, as he worked diligently. The young writer, and child prodigy, Mishell sat on the thick sofa beside him. They smiled, one thing they had in common was that both enjoyed nice and quiet places. Evia learned a good lesson... It was ok to share the love of his daughter. It would make him happy, it would make Aqua happy and it certainly made Mishell happy.

Lias and Gusto were tediously working on new weapons and armor. The flames shot out as Gusto hammered the steel into beautiful shapes and designs. Lias sharpened the blades to fine and sturdy edges... It was nice to be back to work. Gusto was enjoying it especially. Ever since their little adventure, the shy smith was now more open and his sad smiles actually revealed signs of life. Even Albel Nox visited earlier that day, accompanied by Cliff Fitter to help out. A smith like Gusto had to admit, that Cliff fellow was incredibly strong and skilled. From time to time they would arm wrestle together... though neither of them were deemed the victor. There was two reasons for this...

A) They seem to have an equal amount of strength. They would wrestle for hours on end and still never force each other down.

B) That Mirage chick would come along and drag Cliff away. If he refused, she would arm wrestle them both and win. Where that women gets her strength, is beyond me. (And yet they have the guts to say they went easy on a woman)

C) Adray comes to visit, 'nuff said.

Gusto wiped the sweat off his brow. The flames were sure hot today. He was about to take a sip from his water bottle when the door opened and in came Miss Stanice. Her face had the same cheery and somewhat clueless expression. That smile never failed to make others smile... Gusto knew this well. His example? Mr. Oh-so-shy-and-quiet Lias. Miss Stanice seemed to have recovered quite well from that small mishap in Airyglyph... in she came as quietly as the wind and as light as a feather. Lias' face immediately turned red as she entered...

"Miss Stanice!" Gusto waved, "How ya doing?"

"Fine and you?" Stanice waved back, gently smiling.

"Oh, you know me! I'm great!" Gusto gave a friendly tap on Lias' shoulder. "Say hi, Lias. Jeez, don't be rude to the lady." The impact made the poor Smith's knees buckle. His pale face was as red as... as red as the flames mixed with strawberry jam. Hey, wait a second? Did he just think about strawberry jam? What in the world...? This was as random as the time Gusto was thinking about squirrels when he was in the bathroom... ehh... that's beside the point. Anyway, back to the story. Gusto gave a sharp nudge to Lias, "Here's your chance! Propose to her!"

"W-wha-what?" Lias stammered, "Propose? What are you talking about, Gusto! I barely know her!"

"Oh please." Gusto sighed, "It's easy! All you gotta do is go up to her and ask her if she wants to get hitched! Cliff asks Mirage all the time!"

"Yes, but unless you havent't noticed." Lias whispered, "Cliff was always shot down! 23 times in fact!"

Gusto shrugged, "Well, that's Cliff for you. Come on Lias! You have to _do something_. This might be your only chance!"

"B-but..." Lias' red face turned brighter. His hand shaking rapidly. "B-but I have to help you with this invention! I couldn't just leave you to do this on your own..."

"Enough of your excuses." Gusto tapped him in the back, "Atleast ask her for a date! Do SOMETHING! I can handle this invention on my own!"

"Gusto, but... what if she..." Lias began.

"Look, you're young, nice, good looking, very talented. Why in the world would she want to reject _you_? Second to Mackwell, you got your own fanclub of chicks!" Gusto was getting impatient, he was practically hopping up and down, making the very room tremble slightly. "Hurry it up, Lias, or else I'll carry you to her myself!"

"Gusto, let's be reasonable..."

"NOPE! I don't wanna hear it!" Without another word, Gusto grabbed Lias and carried him over to Stanice.

"Wait! Mr. Gusto! Please put me down, this is ridiculous!" Lias pleaded, "Let's not be so bold here! Can we please think this through?"

"Nope! I already did the thinking!" Gusto chuckled. "I got a feeling in my gut, this plan will soar SKY HIGH!"

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Lias sighed.

It was a strange sight, Gusto carrying the shy blacksmith over his shoulders. If you didn't know Gusto, you'd probably think he was a kidnapper or something. Evia and Mishell was watching with interest as they passed by... Stanice, on the other hand was daydreaming on a nearby table. In her hands was a small emboidered stuffed animal. Gusto nudged his partner (who was shaking like a leaf, by the way) "Now here's your chance! Make Gusto proud and bring home the babies! Aww crap, I'm sounding like Adray now, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are." Lias smiled weakly.

"Here I'll start it for ya." Gusto winked. The Tall dark Blacksmith took a deep breath, and with a hearty smile, adressed the young woman with a cheerful voice. "MISS STANICE GOOD MORNING! HOW ARE YOU, THIS FINE AND LOVELY DAY?"

Lias covered his ears... _ouch_... it rang. Evia and Mishell almost jumped in surprise! Stanice, who was taking a nap, woke up. Dazedly, she rubbed her eyes and smiled at the two gentlemen before her.

"Good morning," Stanice gave another ditzy smile, "I'm fine and you?"

"Oh we're great!" Gusto then began to talk really fast. "You-see, Miss-Stanice, It's sucha _nice _morning, and my friend Lias, you two are acquainted, yes? Had this brilliant idea! He should really tell it to you! And seeing as he's such a great guy, I think you two should really agree to this fabulous idea! I, Gusto would be ever so thrilled if you two went along with this tremendous idea! The idea!" Gusto took a breath. Woo that was a little too much words in one breath. "... Uhh... that Lias brought up... heheh. So...? How about it?"

"Huh...?" Stanice blinked in confusion. "You wanted to say something, Lias?"

Lias' face turned shot red. Gusto once again, nudged him forward. Lias readjusted his glasses and smiled. "Good morning, Miss Stanice. I'm sorry to bother you, this morning."

Gusto groaned. He covered his eyes with his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. "Ugh... slow workers. Ah well, it can't be helped, I guess..." _GET TO THE ACTION, PEOPLE!_ He yelled to himself. **_(Plus 5 points for Lias, who actually did something)_**

"It's fine, It's fine." Stanice replied, "My apologies, I dozed off again."

Lias began to laugh lightly, rubbing his head. "I doubly my apologies, then. If you want you can go back to umm... whatever you were doing."

Gusto couldn't believe it. "ARGHHHH!" Gusto moaned. _**(Minus 3 points! YOU DONT TELL HER SHE CAN GO BACK TO SLEEP! ARGHHHHH)**_

Stanice and Lias stared at Gusto, who was groaning so loudly, he was holding his ribs. "Umm... Mr. Gusto are you ok? Are you sick?"

Gusto froze. Smiling and laughing he began to sweat nervously, "Ehehe, of course not. Just a stomach ache, just a stomach ache. Carry on, carry on, don't mind little old me."

"Anyway..." Lias blushed, "You look...err... nice today."

"Yes!" Gusto put up a thumbs up. _Now we're getting somewhere! **Plus 5 points! **_Stanice once again looked at Gusto, The large smith smiled nervously and waved. Holding his stomach he crouched on the floor.. "Urghhh... Stomach Ache! OooHhhh..."

"Thanks, you look nice too." Stanice smiled.

_Come on...! Get this conversation moving! Ok, She looks nice! Next step, Next step! You can do it Lias!_ Gusto was frantic, he was holding his head while he silently began to moan in agony. Evia and Mishell, who was watching them, turned around... they sure were a strange bunch. Lias, shuffled his feet nervously, mustering his courage he took Stanice's hands and smiled. Gusto jumped, waving a flag with Lias' and Stanice's face on them! (**_PLUS 10 POINTS! YOUR DOING GREAT!_**)

"I'll get straight to the point. Miss Stanice I..." Lias hesitated for a second. "Please...If you can, _will you go out with me?_"

_**DING DING DING DING!**_ _**(Plus 30 POINTS!)**_ Gusto cheered. "YEAHHHHHHH! WOO HOO!" Gusto then groaned, "Urgh... ouch... real stomach cramp... oww... A little too excited there..."

Stanice began to blush, she gave a smile and held Lias' hand. "Mr. Lias..."

(SFX: Gusto's putting up little twinkling stars in the background.)

"Yes, Miss Stanice...?"

"I... I can't believe we have so much in common!" The winged woman laughed.

**_"EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEHHHHhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH?" (Said by both Lias and Gusto)_**

"I don't understand...?" Lias asked, he smiled nervously. "Have so much in common? What...?"

"I love to go out too! Especially for walks and picnics! It's a wonderful season to look at the nice trees and flowers!" Gusto and Lias just stared blankly... _wow, that's as dense as you can get_. Stanice grabbed Lias' hand, she had stars in her eyes. "I never knew you loved the outdoors too! I'd be happy to go outside! Company is always great!"

"Errmmm... yeah..." Lias' face was red. Poor guy was rather speechless...

"It's a date then!" Stanice hugged Lias. "We should prepare a picnic! Or an outdoor camping trip!" She faced Gusto, who was pale, and also rather speechless. "Would you like to come too, Mr. Gusto? The more the merrier!"

"Eheheh..." Gusto laughed nervously. "I think you should skip the date part and get on to the proposal..."

"You're right..." Lias replied.

"**_FIRE IN THE HOLE!_**" Everyone's attention was on the other end of the room. _**KABOOOOOOM!**_ With an Earth shattering explosion, the entire Workshop began to shake violently. It seemed Meryl and Vanilla accidentally set off a practice bomb. Luckily, the Workshop didn't completely explode like last time. Following the explosion was Meryl's triumphant laughter. **"EUREKA! I GOT IT!"** Meryl held up her wrench, **"STAGE ONE COMPLETED!"**

_**BBBBBZzZzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzTTTTTT**_

What was that buzzing noise? Sounded like a crackle of electricity. Evia, Mishell and Gusto peaked over the door into the Mad Engineer pair's secret labratory. There was a large metal table, and huge machinery that Meryl brought over from Greeton. They both had a lab suit on, a pair of goggles and rubber gloves. That's not what scared them though... the thing that frightened them the most was the huge metal cable in Meryl's hand. It began to cackle with electric current... The two engineers stuck the cable on the metal ball that was positioned on the table.

_**BBBBBBBZZZZZZZZzzzzZZZZZZZTTTTT **_

"It's ALIVE! ALIVE I SAY, ALIVE!" Meryl yelled over the loud buzzing. "Vanilla, the cable please!"

"What happened?" Lias asked.

"No! Get on with the proposal! Gusto will handle this!" Gusto got up, hammer in hand.

"IT LIVES TO KILL! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Meryl laughed, "BEHOLD! THE _**SUPER-MEGA-FLARE-DUCK-A-TRON-3000**_ VERSION 5.0!"

Vanilla: "Or Mega Duck 3000 for short."

Crawling from the table was what looked like the duck-duck bomb... except, other than having the rubber body of a duck, there was a small timer on its body. And aside from the duck body and the timer, it had large spider-like metallic legs as it walked around. It beeped slightly... Gusto grabbed his hammer and dived forward. The thing was hideous! It was a duck with Spider legs!

"Holy Sweet Apris! It's a MUTANT-SPIDER-DUCK Hybrid!" Gusto ran up to it, "Don't worry, kids, **_GUSTO WILL SAVE YOU!_** _HYAAAAAAAAAH!_"

"W-wait! Gusto! Get back!" Meryl shouted.

"Oh no! Meryl, what're we going to do?" Vanilla yelled.

Meryl grabbed the bunny in her arms, "The thing is motion detection activated! Any hostility, this whole place will blow!"

"Hit the deck!" Vanilla and Meryl jumped back behind their metal table.

_Meanwhile..._

"Miss Stanice... my sincerest apologies." Lias smiled weakly, "What I meant to say is..."

"What is it, Mr. Lias?" Stanice asked. They held each others hands, both blushing greatly.

"What I wanted to say was..." Lias stammered, He got down on one knee and kissed Stanice's hand. In his other hand was a ring, that Gusto just happened to slip him. "Miss Stanice... I really like you, and... well...I wanted to know, will you-!" Sadly, poor Lias' proposal was cut short. Before Gusto could even smash the robot duck, the bomb began to blink...

_**...beeeep...**_

_**...BEEEEP...**_

_**...ENEMY DETECTED...**_

_**...COMMENCE SELF-DESTRUCT... In 3... 2... 1... 0... **_

"Huh?" Gusto blinked, "What the...?"

_**...beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppp...**_

_**KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Ladies and Gents there's a lesson to learn here. The Peterny ruins was back to its ruined state... Our loveable inventors were now covered in ash and soot. Gusto was frozen, holding his hammer up, ready to smash the already blown up mutant duck. Meryl and Vanilla peaked from behind the metal table... unharmed. They coughed as puffs of smoke erupted from their mouth. Their faces were covered in soot and ash, only the outline of their goggles were seen. Evia and Mishel were also covered in ash, the book young Mishell was reading burned to a pile of cinders. Luckily, Evia's project was unharmed since he finished... but even so, the man also experienced the full blast of the explosion. Welch, Aqua and the old Guildmaster, along with a hundred townsfolk began to gather at the scene...

"HURRAH!" Meryl and Vanilla cheered, "A SUCESS! WE GOT A 99!"

Gusto gasped another puff of smoke. The large blacksmith spotted Lias in the room behind him... well of course there was no more rooms. All of the walls were completely destroyed... Lias collapsed on the floor, in his hand was the ring.

"Lias! Are you ok?" Gusto asked.

Lias nodded in response. Gusto, then looked around confused. A certain winged woman was nowhere to be found...

"Where'd Miss Stanice go?" Gusto asked.

Lias slowly pointed up to the sky. Gusto looked up... he didn't have to be told twice. That women went flying from the explosion... A mere gust of wind could sweep that girl into the sky. AN EXPLOSION, now THAT was a different story. Gusto smiled, he blew it big time... AGAIN. Miss Stanice was tossed into the winds... with the same ditzy smile on her face.

"Hey, Lias... don't worry about it, k?" Gusto urged. "It was an accident, I swear! Well... you had to admit. This plan really did blow SKY HIGH! Get it?"

Lias's face was on the floor. His body shaking... "**_Gusto... you fool..._**"

**_To be Continued..._**

* * *

That was Part 1 of the two part Ending! Next up is what happened to Nel and what happened to Mackwell! 

After that I guess I'll put an epilogue...

Anyway, What'd you think about this chapter? Pure randomness lol!

Read and Review!

_

* * *

_


	12. Two Minds

_**Eureka! I got it!**_

_**Chapter 12: How it Ended, Part II  
**_

_**Two Minds...  
**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean, for I speak the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the goddamn truth. (I think)

* * *

_**Act I: What happened to that bet?**_

_It's not love! It's called uneasy negotiation, dammnit! _

Nel Zelpher, Crimson blade and the agent of Aquios, watched the content people of Arias walk by. _What was that?_ That's right; the people of Arias were content! Content as in happy, pleasant and downright dandy! While Nel goes off trouncing the bad guys that threatened her nation, and possibly the universe, the people of Arias rebuilt their city. It was no longer a gray unhappy town, less crime, less danger equals a happy country. The war was over and due to the Aquios soldier's constant maintain of peace, the planet of Elicoor was happy. Nel had to admit… it was kind of boring. The lack of action was nice, but only for so long. Bearing a slight grin, the Aquarian remembered what Cliff has told her about the galaxy's view of Elicoor… the planet that could never record its population due to internal struggle and mass warfare.

Arias looked like a miniature version of Peterny. The streets were crowded with more people, the buildings were rebuilt, and business was spreading. The Waterfront City, afterall, was located between Airyglyph and Aquaria. It was a new trading post of commerce. All those poor, suffering Inventors in Airyglyph were transferred to the new Workshop in Arias (except a few like Noppin who wanted to stay close to home). Claire's been doing a great job... Speaking of Claire...

"Nel! How ya doing?" The boisterous father of Claire Lasbard greeted her. His entrance, as always, was very manly. Muscles were manly, his skirt-like robe was manly, and even the way he was carrying his groceries was... somewhat _manly_. Adray was a man with many surprises... despite his old age.

"Nothing much," Nel simply answered to Adray.

Nel was sitting at a table in a newly opened cafe. She was wearing rather casual clothes, well... more casual than usual, anyway. She was given a vacation for a few months, and in these past months the usually busy work-a-holic Zelpher was actually enjoying her life. What was she doing? Well from time-to-time she worked in inventing, went shopping with Claire, Tynave and Farleen, Hung out with Cliff and Mirage, and beat Lassele in chess. (A feat that was only accomplished by a few... like Professor Elena, Mackwell and maybe even her majesty.) Her life was peaceful, for once.

"Ah, it's such a nice fall morning," Adray sat beside Nel. "Not busy working anymore, Nel?"

"I was given a vacation." Nel replied.

"Hmm...Hmm..." Adray scratched his beird thoughtfully, "Vacation, eh? The perfect time to be hunting for a man, wouldn't you agree?"

She looked away, sipping the cool drink in front of her. Nel replied evasively, "Don't talk nonsense."

"Well if my lovely niece is having trouble picking out a few, you know your Uncle Adray could always find you a nice man!" Adray laughed, "That's the problem with you and Claire! It's always work, work, work and more work!"

"What's wrong with work?" Nel asked, "If I recall correctly, when father and you were Crimson Blade Agents, you worked hard too."

"Don't be ridiculous." Adray waved his broad hands, "It was an adventure! Thrill of a life-time! Your father always believed it to be work... poor Neville, always so diligent! Life is to have fun! Young people need to have fun! Besides Nel, you're sweet, caring, a little too serious, and have the looks of your mother! Finding a man is like catching a fish!" Adray seated himself across the table, placing the groceries on the floor. "Your Uncle Adray will find the perfect man! He should be strong, good looking, charming, a real prince, nice personality, pride, honor-!"

Nel sighed, Adray, her "Uncle" was always a little too happy from time-to-time. The man acts way too young for his age! Sometimes, this was a good thing... other times it was kind of scary. And when the man attempts to act like a father... well... we all know where that is going. But Nel had to admit, for an old man... the guy sure was talented. He had strength, energy (that rivals even today's youth), Fashion sense (... i think?), a sense of humor, and was one of the few men who could cook (Being a single father for so long, helps). Nel, being his godchild from Neville, was treated like a daughter. Adray loved her so much! But... atleast Nel and Claire could split the pain 50-50... This was one of those moments when Adray was acting more fatherly.

"Anyway, have you been eating ok?" Adray asked.

"Yes, Adray." Nel sighed.

"Have enough money?" Adray asked.

"Yes, Adray." Nel replied.

"Have good clothes?" Adray asked.

"Yes, Adray."

"Alot of clothes?" Adray asked.

"Yes, Adray."

"A place to stay?" Adray asked.

"Yes, Adray."

"A boyfriend?" Adray asked.

"No, Adray and I don't want one." Nel replied.

"Damn," Adray snapped his fingers, "So close that time!"

If there was one thing Adray was good at... it was spoiling Nel and Claire. That man... he has to realize that his two prized young children are adults now! Sometimes... Nel would see him in his room looking at old picture albums of his wife, Claire when she was a baby, Neville (Nel's father), Neville's wife and Nel (when she was younger)... Nel even looked at it once. Adray, in his younger days was not very different from today. He had his arms around Neville's neck as they took a photo. The same wide smile, gentle eyes and silver hair. He sure was handsome when he was younger, (and one has to admit he looks pretty good even now...for an old guy.).

"Who are you waiting for?" Adray asked.

"No one in particular." Nel replied taking another sip from her drink.

"Who is it?" Adray asked nudging closer. His muscular arms pushing against Nel's shoulder. "You can tell your Uncle Adray..."

"Nobody special. It's only Albel." Nel said with an almost cold tone. "The idiot's late."

"Glou's boy?" Adray gasped, "You two are an item? He might be a little scrawny for my taste, but atleast the boy got pride! And possibly nice fashion sense, so how about that marriage-!"

"Now your just jumping to conclusions." Nel pushed Adray back into the seat. "He just has a debt to repay... but I've been out here for hours already... What a jerk." Nel sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "Making a woman late..."

"My little Nel is growing up!" Adray bawled giving Nel a large hug with his manly arms. "You make your uncle proud! Now if Claire would actually follow this example I can die a happy man, possibly a granddaddy!"

"You're jumping to conclusions again, Adray." Nel sighed, once again pushing the boisterous warrior off, "Besides, Adray you're a godfather, not an uncle."

"Bah!" Adray grunted, "You should know better that Neville and I were like brothers! Brothers in arms! Why didn't you hear the story when you're father and I fought off them pirates!"

"Yes, Adray." Nel sighed.

"And that time when we traveled all of Elicoor!" Adray continued.

"Yes, Adray."

"And that time we were accepted as Crimson Blade Elites!" Adray continued.

"Yes, Adray."

"And that time Adray succeeded in getting grandchildren from his two most prized little girls-!" Adray was cut off.

"No, Adray, it won't work on me." Nel shook her head, "Quit with the matchmaking, you're too old for that..."

"Nonsense! A father's work is never done!" Adray's booming laughter filled the streets. "Today's youth can't even compare to my awesome energy! I can bring life into a graveyard if I wanted to!"

"That's why retirement needs more youthful old men like you, Adray. you can be so carefree sometimes..." Nel giggled. She began to stir her drink with her straw watching the ice cubes float around. Her eyes fell a little, "Unlike some young jerks who need to stop acting like complete idiots."

"Ah, you must be talking about Lassele, yeah that guy needs to lighten up." Adray laughed, "Not to mention, pull himself out of the early retirement! With all that barking, complaining and constant chattering, he'll get grey hair before he reaches 40!"

"Adray...I was talking about-" Nel paused, "Nevermind."

"The fool always makes fun of me because he can beat me in a game of chess!" Adray flexed his massive, manly muscles. "In battle sometimes strategy needs no calculation! It's about might, courage and pride!"

Nel sighed once more, covering her eyes with her hand. "Adray, don't you have cooking to do?" Nel asked, rubbing her eyes with her fingers.

"You're right! I almost forgot." Adray scooped up his bags of groceries, "Today I'm planning on cooking a nice healthy meal for you ladies! How about some of my famous garlic fried fish? Or maybe my three beef stew? So drop by for dinner."

"We'll look forward to it." Nel waved as the large boisterous man waved back.

"Also..." Adray whsipered in Nel's ear, "If you're staying late, make sure to have lots of fun, ya hear? It's hard work getting them kids... I'm sure Albel knows how to pull it off real well. He _is_ from Airyglyph, heh... but don't forget, we Aquarians got the energy to topple mountains!"

"Adray!" Nel snapped irritated, not wanting to hear another word. "We are NOT an item! It's... It's... It's an uneasy negotiation! A frail treaty! That's it!"

"Right..." Adray winked. The large man began to chuckle as he made his way down the street. The Aquarian warrior waved happily, "Remember Nel! 2 boys and maybe a girl will do!"

"ADRAY!" Nel barked, flinging what looked like some guy's shoe. "Not another word!" Adray disappeared in the crowd of people, Nel, rather wasted of energy from her dear old, "uncle" slumped down on the table. Albel was well over an hour late... Nel crossed her legs as she continued to stir her drink, uneasily.

_Meanwhile... On the other side of town  
_

"We're lost again, aren't we, old man?" Albel snapped irritated.

"Nonsense, Albel!" Count Woltar Chuckled. "The Cafe is just around this corner."

"Bah, you said that a thousand times for the last thousands of corners! Admit it, we're lost!" Albel muttered scornfully, "And if this is the cafe, then where the hell is she?" Albel snapped as they stood in front of the 5th Cafe today. "_Why the hell does this town have so many god-forsaken cafes, anyway? Not ALL of us love Coffee!"_

Albel and Count Woltar stood in front of yet another cafe. Arias was alot more complex than it use to... not to mention the crowds of people everywhere. It was no surprise that they would get lost...Albel was pretty pissed off... They've been wandering around town for so long, his feet was yelling at him to sit down and forget that damn girl! Regardless, they were still lost. Woltar bore a very easy going and happy expression as they wandered the town... It was nice to escape the paperwork and go for a nice stroll. Sadly, the same didn't go well for Albel.

"The Kitty Cafe?" Albel stared, "Why the hell are we here, _again_? We came here 5 times already!"

"Oh, no wonder it looked so familiar." Woltar chuckled, "May I ask Albel... are you lost?"

"AND WHY DO YOU THINK THAT? What gives you THAT absurd idea? WHO'S FAULT DO YOU THINK THIS IS?" Albel roared, "You dressed me up! You Kicked me out of the house, Forced me to go on the ridiculous stroll, and now you take us around in circles? THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!"

"Ah, to be young again." Woltar whistled. "It's a special occasion, Albel, no need to act all upset."

"I am NOT upset." Albel huffed, crossing his arms. He was dressed in black silk, his usual attire was no longer a deep violet but black and gold. It was a present from Woltar a couple of years back... on his birthday. Albel was grumpy today, especially since that bumbling Cliff spilt some coffee on his favorite violet outfit. Now, he was forced into his "special" outfit that he rarely wears... unless it was for Woltar's or Arzei's birthday... Coffee ruined his day, so seeing cafes where they serve coffee makes him more pissed off than usual.

"My, Albel..." Woltar gave the young swordsman a pat on the back. "You sure have some bad direction sense."

"One more word... One more word, old man..." Albel threatened.

"Regardless, you do know you are 1 hour late." Woltar smiled, "You know that you are-"

"Yes... old man... I am late." Albel gritted his teeth. "She probably... left by now..."

"It's rude to keep a woman waiting, Albel." The two Airyglyphians walked down the next street, turning yet another, familiar curb. "It's no surprise if she rejected you by now."

"There is no 'rejected'!" Albel hissed, "Have you gone senile old man? We are not together! I would rather eat maggots than hang around with one! This was nothing but a silly game! A harmless bet! Competition!"

"A bet?"

"That's right, A BET! Want me to spell it out for you?"

"I didn't know you were so eager to see a woman. Are you two-?" Woltar began.

"WE ARE NOT TOGETHER!" Albel roared, "I said before, I would rather eat maggots than hang around with them!"

"Oh good, so you do have feelings for these maggots, afterall."

"What in blazing hell are you talking about?"

"Well you'd rather eat them, this must show atleast SOME affection. I mean, you'd rather eat them than kill them?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Just to let you know, Albel... some animals they eat their mates to show their-!"

"You really are senile, aren't you?"

"That's right!" Woltar cackled, "How old do you think I am? Well in my years I'd say! Back in my day-!"

"FORGET IT!"

Albel's legs were once again aching... They walked from Kirlsa to Arias by the Aires hill. Normally, this was an easy task... but being in a sour mood already, Albel was even more pissed off when they wandered around the city of Arias for hours! Fall was a pretty decent season too, it's not as sweaty and hot as summer... and not as freezing cold as winter. Albel hates winters, especially in Airyglyph. In Kirlsa, his home town, Fall was probably the nicest of seasons. Arias shared the same nice atmosphere... sadly, coffee ruined the best of it.

"Maggots, Worms, Fools!" Albel muttered to himself sourly, "And now I have a senile old man!"

"By the way, Albel, why are you dressed up like that, anyway?" Woltar asked.

"ARGH!"

The two Airyglyphians made it in front of the Arias manor... it wasn't what they were looking for... but it was a start. They kindly asked Tynave and Farleen the direction of their commanding officer. It was an odd feeling... but Albel felt a tweak of anger... those two women were giggling at him. It's the outfit isn't it? ISN'T IT? Albel didn't ENJOY dressing nicely and all fancy, that was MACKWELL's job! As they walked through Arias ONE MORE TIME, following the map that Tynave _kindly _drew for them.

"By the way, Albel." Woltar tapped the young swordsman on the shoulder.

"Yes...?" Albel asked.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Woltar urged forward, "Did something good happen to you?"

"Bah, what nonsense are you spewing?" Albel hissed, "I'm not happy! Why in hell would I be HAPPY?"

"Because..." Woltar inched away. "That smile on your face... is very unlike you, and kind of scary."

"Oh really...?" Surely enough, Albel's face possessed a contorted smile in which grew even more abstract and red as they walked over towards the next Street. Count Woltar needed no explanation... sitting on the table was a certain crimson haired Aquarian. She stared off into space, as if lost in thought. The gentle wind blew past her, she wore casual clothes, and a carefree smile on her face. Woltar blinked... Albel's face was not only scary... but what was this? Has Albel truly fallen over for someone who he calls a maggot? Or maybe... she was more than just a mere maggot to the great Albel the Wicked.

Nel suddenly turned around, her glowing eyes staring at the two gentlemen. Her face split into a small smile as she waved. "Albel you're late... now about that bet..."

"I thought you said there was no loser." Albel asked with a smirk.

"I did," Nel replied with an innocent smile. "But it doesn't change anything."

Albel gave a small sigh, he ran his hands through his dark hair. "Alright, fine... what evil and dangerous place do you want me to get stranded in?"

"I said we both won." Nel got up, she walked toward Albel and smiled evilly, "Sorry Albel Nox, now we're stuck together in an evil and dangerous place to get stranded in."

"And where's that?" Albel asked curiously.

"_Where do you think_?" Nel sighed, "An adventure to clean up... _Cliff's room_. Are you up for it, Albel?"

"Woman, you know me." Albel flashed a dangerous smile, "I never back away from a challenge."

**_Act II: Patience is a Virtue_**

Eliza skipped her way across the street. The fall season was one of her favorite seasons of all, second to spring. The beautiful colored leaves floated down from the sky like rain. A coat of orange, red and yellows filled the streets of Aquios. The young Inventor was off on her lunch break, the work days were long, but learning more and more everyday, the young Alchemist was gaining new knowledge everyday. The cool fall breeze blew past, making a flutter of leaves blow past. In a few months the winter season will roll in, simultaneously, summer heat will drift to Airyglyph.

She wore a short simple skirt, a blue sweater and pretty blue hat on her head. In her arms she clutched a book on basic runology... her dream was always to learn the fascinating works of the mystic arts. She didn't have much money for schools in Aquios, therefore, she had private lessons. Every weekday she would work many hours in the Inventor's guild to support her brother, and on the weekends she studied runology. It was amazing how hard the young girl worked.

"Good morning, Eliza." Mackwell smiled as the young girl passed through his front gates. "You're looking well today."

"Morning, Mackwell!" Eliza replied happily, she slipped through his yard and appeared beside him. "How are you?"

"Busy..." Mackwell replied nonchalantly. "I forgot to apologize to Miss Welch about my frequent absences."

"True," Eliza smiled cheerfully, "But it's ok, you still work three times a week."

Mackwell opened the doors for Eliza, the young girl entered his manor-like home. It was well kept, nothing was out of place. Even during Mackwell's absence, the librarian Leila kept everything in check. Eliza, like always, was in awe at the large house... it was very spacious and nostalgic. She visited every weekend to learn runology with Mackwell. Once in a while they would spend lunch together...

"How is she doing...?" Eliza's voice was small. She followed the Alchemist down the hall and towards the kitchen.

"She's progressing well." Mackwell's answer was somewhat mechanic. "There's nothing to worry about..."

"But she's not progressing fast enough... is she?" Eliza felt a small tear roll down her cheek. "I hope she gets well soon..."

Mackwell crouched down, his hand on the small girl's shoulder. He wore no heavy garments, rather his casual appearance made him easier to communicate with. He bore a small smile, comforting her. It was hard for Eliza... she came over the very morning the two arrived back from their trip. Nel escorted them personally... Boy was Eliza surprised. She almost fainted in shock... Misty Lear was not only unconscious, but deatheningly weak and frail. Her pale skin was the deadly color of ice, and Mackwell's appearance was a shock as well. Both looked as if they encountered death.

"Keep your hopes up." Mackwell handed her a bundle of lunch boxes. "Here, for you and your brother."

"Thank you..." Eliza clutched the boxes in her hands.

Mackwell slowly stood up, walking toward the cabinets. He pulled out a silver tray and tea cups. On the small plates were what looked like crackers and soup, he silently poured tea into the cup. Though he may not show it, Mackwell was disturbed... He still possessed that straight posture, that down-to-earth attitude as well as his hard working nature. That much has remained the same for sure... He held the tray in his hand as he headed for the hallway.

"5 minutes late..." Mackwell chuckled to himself.

"What?" Eliza asked.

"She woke up... would you like to see her?" Mackwell asked. "It's time for her lunch, anyway."

Eliza silently nodded. The two made their way to Mackwell's bedroom, the room itself was well lit. The sunlight streamed through the windows, bringing a somewhat warm and light atmosphere. The room itself was a bit messy, but that was to be expected. The cats perched around on top of the grand sofas and furniture watched as the two entered the room... Eliza wiped the tears from her face. Sitting upright on the grand bed was Misty Lear, her face was beginning to regain its old glow and her hands were folded in front of her as she gazed outside the window, a small smile on her face.

It's been three months since they returned from Airyglyph... she woke up a short while ago. Regaining most of her energy she slowly improved. Eliza walked up to her, keeping a fair distance.

"She still doesn't talk, does she?" Eliza asked.

"No," Mackwell looked away as he picked up the scattered books on the floor. "She's still as mute as ever. But from time-to-time she does smile."

"Does she remember anything?" Eliza asked.

Mackwell gave no response. He quietly stacked the books back on his desk and placed the tray in front of the quiet woman. It was scary... as if she was a fragile doll. She possessed no memories what-so-ever, let alone understand. It's as if she closed her mind from the world. The concerned Alchemist could only wonder what that dungeon she was held in, did to her. Was it that horrifying that she refused to feel pain again? She only remained there for 3 days at most... and yet, she was lost. Mackwell could only feel bitter that he didn't make it in time...

"_People see terrible, terrible things down here._ _How long you last, depends on the will of the person... though that will can be easily shattered._" Hanrei, that mysterious soldier's voice echoed...

Mackwell bit his lip.

"Miss Lear..." Eliza's small voice appeared from behind her. She held the pale alchemist's hands, "It's me Eliza again, you remember, right? The one who comes every week?"

"..." Misty Lear only blankly stared at the small girl. Her gentle eyes were completely blank... as if staring at a stranger.

"Get well soon, ok?" Eliza smiled happily, her blonde pig tails bouncing. "Try hard, we're all waiting for you to come back to us! I'll try my hardest too! Then... then we can work together in the workshop again, and have tea! wouldn't that be nice?"

"Eliza..." Mackwell advanced forward, he was about to comfort her but he stared wide eyed... Already placed on top of the girl's head was Misty Lear's pale hand. Eliza began to cry louder as she embraced Misty Lear in a hug, one a child gives to her mother. Mackwell slowly shook his head, "Eliza... I think it's time to go feed your brother."

Eliza sniffed, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "You're right..." The girl gave Mackwell a bow, "Thank you for the lunch Mr. Mackwell! It means alot to me!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Eliza walked out of the room, running outside of the house. "I'm sorry Eliza..." Mackwell muttered holding his forehead, there was no sign of illness. Yet, his head felt like it would split... He gave a coarse laugh, "How ironic... I thought I told her not to adress me as 'mister', anymore."

Mackwell began to quietly clean the room. The books scattered around the room were about Airyglyph... most of which were restricted files he found in libraries. He discovered many strange things... interesting... but strange all the same. Like Hanrei said, that Prison was deffinitely a torture chamber... it was never used previously. The area itself was said to have perished in a fire, it was a torture chamber used more than 300 years ago. That wasn't the extremely strange part either... A strange name came up as he read through the files. The list of the victims and the perpetrators were recorded in the files. The interesting name was, Hanrei Arden... he died during the fire that destroyed the place centuries ago.

Mackwell, being a very non-spiritual person found it pretty hard to believe...was it possibly an apparition? Records stated that he and his love was brought there and tortured to death... they never saw each other again. Mackwell could only gaze at Misty Lear... spirit stones to bring the soul of her departed daughter to rest, that was what Fayt Leingod gave her. Spirits? Was that what he was? Decorated in his room was a vase full of flowers... deep purple lilacs that were given to Misty Lear as an apology gift from Janice.

"Spirits..." Mackwell was deep in thought, his eyes fixed on the pale alchemist. She was gazing out the windows at the rain of brightly colored leaves. "Hanrei never found the woman he loved... and yet, he died unjustly. Their bodies thrown out..."

Mackwell picked up the spoon from the tray and mixed the soup. "It's tragic... and yet, _appropriate_." carefully he fed the food to Misty Lear. With a content smile, Misty lear took a small bite and chewed. It was like feeding a child.

"Every victory is a step towards death..." Mackwell continued to feed the young woman. "Every death is just the next level of life..." The alchemist gave her a moment to chew, "And every life is precious to everyone... no matter who you are."

"Ah!" Misty Lear reached over her hands grabbing for Mackwell's desk, the motion was so sudden that she knocked over the tray onto the floor. Mackwell's eyes trailed to the vase of flowers... Sitting beside the vase of lilacs was the small cat statue she had made for him earlier... he requested it to be repaired since he accidentall broke it.

"You want this?" Mackwell asked, picking up the cool glass cat. It's glossy shine reflected the light off of it's surface like a jewel. "You probably don't remember, but you gave me this..." He held it in the palm of his hand. "I apologize for breaking it before..." The glass cat passed from Mackwell's hand to Misty Lear's... "I also apologize that I wasn't able to thank you properly..."

The pale faced, beautiful alchemist stared in wonder at the glass cat. She stroked its glassy surface, her blank eyes gazing into the small jewels of the cat's. Mackwell sighed as he began to clean the floor, the soup and tea spilt all over the polished wooden floor. He began to dry the floor when a noise caught his attention. It sounded like a small murmur... his eyes trailed upward to Misty Lear. Her eyes were still fixed on the cat in her hand.

"Who am I fooling?" Mackwell chuckled, "The doctors already told me it was impossible... it would take months, maybe even years...untill you..."

"I..."

Mackwell's eyes widened. He slowly got up, his eyes wide as he stared in disbelief.

"What did you say?" Mackwell asked, he pushed his messy silver hair back from his eyes. "Did you say something?"

"I..." Misty Lear began to shake, the cat in her firm palm, "I..."

Mackwell firmly grabbed her shoulders. She was gently, but firmly pushed back. His eyes were still wide... she gave a small groan of pain. "You said something, didn't you? Misty Lear?"

"I'm..." She pushed the glass cat to Mackwell, Misty Lear covered her eyes with her hands as she spoke. Her voice was shaky, tears filling her eyes. She began to hysterically squirm in his grip, as if ashamed to look him in the eyes. The pale but beautiful alchemist broke down to sobs. "I'm s...I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" The woman got out of the bed quickly and attempted to hide in the corner, to hide her face but Mackwell's firm grip was strong. Still extremely weak, she tripped on herself and was left sobbing on the floor.

"Lear!" Mackwell walked up to her, she was shaking... repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over...

He wasn't sure if she was apologizing to him... no, she was apologizing to alot of things. Possibly because she inflicted pain on herself, the trouble she brought to mackwell and the others... but this was subconsciously. Or maybe she was apologizing to those spirits of the past? But... Right now, she was apologizing for not understanding... for forgetting, and for her confusion.

Mackwell gently released her, his hands shaking as he held her up, she was in his warm embrace. She was light, her body was frail from the lack of nutrition... he wrapped his arms around her, his hand over her head. "It's ok..." he murmured reassuringly... "It's ok... there's no need to apologize."

"I'm sorry." She flung her arms around his neck, sobbing in his shoulder.

"Shhh..." Mackwell put a finger over her lips as he carefully got her up on her feet and placed her back in bed. "It's ok... you have plenty of time... I'll wait for you, I promise." Mackwell placed the blankets over her as she gazed her blank eyes into his. "I promise I'll wait for you, I won't leave you behind..." He held her hand in his grip, "I'll wait like you did for me."

* * *

_**Act III: The Grave of the Lost**_

The Snow began to drift down from the heavens... Aquios, the capital of Aquaria, was covered in a thick coat of white. Winters were nice, peaceful and very beautiful despite the cold weather... Despite the season, the sea was still shimmering giving off an eerie glow. Walking through the gardens, leaving a trail of footsteps on the newly fallen snow, were 4 people. The place was a graveyard for those who have fallen over time... There were many familiar gravestones... some names that our friends would never forget.

Mackwell, Eliza, her younger brother and Misty Lear stood before the many stone plaques, paying their respects to the dead. Eliza and her younger brother prayed for their parents who died during the war, Misty Lear for her daughter, and Mackwell for his old friend, Dion and his lover Ameena. Underneath these soils were memories of the past... So many people come to visit the spirits of the departed. Misty Lear firmly gripped Mackwell's arm, she was dressed in thick black robes, her dark hair covering her eyes. Small vapors protruded out as they breathed the cold winter air...

"Mackwell..." Misty lear began to shake.

"I'm sorry... I want to visit one more grave." Mackwell walked over to the farthest corner, by the stone wall was a large memorial. It was placed recently under Mackwell and Nel's request... Engraved on the stone was a single statement, 'En Memoriam de Mori' (In memory of the dead). This was the grave dedicated to those who died during the fires of Airyglyph and in that terrible torture chamber... a same grave was built in Airyglyph as well... where the massive structure collapsed. No evidence remained of that dreadful place, it was all destroyed in the process of time.

"May you poor souls go in peace." Misty Lear closed her eyes and began to sing a small hymn... "Let the light guide you through the darkness..."

"Rest in peace, friends..." Mackwell gently placed the roses down on the grave... The stone was covered in snow, it held the lives of many of the departed. Mackwell was about to turn around and leave when Eliza tugged on his sleeve, she looked up at his face.

"She's never told you, yet?" Eliza asked.

"No," Mackwell replied, "But it's ok, we can still give her time and wait." Misty Lear, still haunted by forlorn memories stared at the grave stone... memories of her daughter she lost, the husband that left her, and the haunting visions of the dead in that dreadful prison.

"For her, I'd wait for as long as she needs." Mackwell smiled.

"Yeah..." Eliza held the hand of her younger brother. "She'll move on one day... just like how she remembers everything now..."

"Yeah... We're not alone in the cold world."

Misty lear began to sing, her voice soft and gentle as the snow that drifted down. It was haunting, yet soothing at the same time. The Wind began to howl as if the spirits began to thank her. Tears fell from her eyes as she prayed...

"Lear..." Mackwell reached for her shoulder, helping her up on her feet. "I think it's time we go..."

"Ok."

Mackwell and Lear walked out the gate, the two children close by their side. There was many mysteries in the world that one couldn't solve with numbers, calculations, and experimentation. In some people, they would call them miracles. Mackwell, the greatest alchemist mind, realized that this world was full of these unsolved mysteries.

Together, they walked out of the gates... the resting place of the dead is said to be the closest to the afterlife... Mackwell breathed in the cold air and smiled. He was alive, they were alive... and that was all that mattered. He clutched Misty lear's hand as they walked... leaving the graveyard behind them.

The Red roses gently swayed in the wind... slowly, the snow began to gather on its red petals. From above, perched over an old tree, beyond the stone walls, it's branches leaning over the graves, sat a small black cat. It's golden eyes sharpened as it watched the Alchemists leave the cemetary...

_Later that Night..._

Misty Lear sat outside of the balcony. The Cold winter breeze was gentle and strangely comforting. She wasn't use to its comforting embrace... the cold was different from the usual loneliness she felt in her life. The cold loneliness of being left behind, being abandoned, and being lost. The moon was bright, the clouds parted and the golden moon shone glowing its mysterious glow. Behind the moon were the many stars. Misty lear held a rose in her hand, she began to pluck the petals slowly. She's been living with Mackwell for a while now, she hasn't confessed her feelings to him.

Every night, she would just gaze out at the moon and stars. How long would she stay? Would a man like Mackwell really want someone like her, around? She could only believe this happiness was brief. She began to sing, her voice echoing and blending with the wind. The wind that spread to the 4 corners of Elicoor.

Her song was interrupted by Mackwell who watched from her room. He quietly opened the door, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's cold out tonight, shouldn't you be in bed?" Mackwell asked gently in her ear.

"Couldn't sleep." Misty Lear whispered.

"Ah, I see." Mackwell gave her a light kiss on the cheek, he sat behind her, arms around her waist. "Don't let me interfere, sing for us... I want to hear that voice."

Misty lear touched his arm and closed her eyes. Her haunting voice echoing in the darkness...

I sense there's something in the wind  
That feels like tragedy's at hand  
And though I'd like to stand by him  
Can't shake this feeling that I have  
The worst is just around the bend

And does he notice my feelings for him?  
And will he see how much he means to me?  
I think it's not to be

What will become of my dear friend?  
Where will his actions lead us then?  
Although I'd like to join the crowd  
In their enthusiastic cloud  
Try as I may, it doesn't last

And will we ever end up together?  
No, I think not, it's never to become  
For I am not the one

"Not that one..." Mackwell whispered, "You're the one just for me, now. As I am, to you."

"I'm sorry..." Misty lear answered.

"Then allow me..." Mackwell's voice was deep and gentle. Misty Lear's eyes widened... it was the same as that voice she heard so long ago. That voice that sang that sad song... Mackwell closed his eyes as his voice drifted into her ear. Blending in with the wind...

My dearest friend, if you don't mind  
I'd like to join you by your side  
Where we can gaze into the stars

And sit together, now and forever  
For it is plain as anyone can see  
We're simply meant to be

"Forever, you and me..."

* * *

Yay! I'm finally done! Sorry for the other excruciating wait > , Anyway, the last part is from Nightmare before X-mas. Thanks Christine for the inspiring idea of using that ending song for the end. It took a while for me to add it in with the story perfectly. 

Well, the ending wasn't perfect but oh well. Hope you liked it! This ends Eureka I got it! XD (And just before X-mas too!)

So what did you guys like about this fic? What did you dislike?

Was the ending bad? or was it ok?

I'm curious :3


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